


When The Flowers Fell From Heaven

by shownustiddies



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: ?? what else, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mob, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Car Sex, Drug Use, Drugs, F/M, Gang Violence, Gun Violence, I just need to say that I have no idea if this will actually have a major character death, I'm still writing it so we'll see, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kissing, M/M, Minor Character Death, Oral Sex, References to Drugs, Sex, Strippers & Strip Clubs, There's just a lot of violence and power and money, Violence, and sex, but given the idea behind the story I needed to be safe, of course
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:53:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 58,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23303458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shownustiddies/pseuds/shownustiddies
Summary: Cora wasn't exactly sure what had been haunting her entire family's life. The only clues she had were made by snooping in on her parents' conversations. But it didn't really matter because she was safe and never felt particularly concerned. Until, one day, two guys came to her doorstep. Suddenly the illusion was gone and she had to make this madness stop.Or an AU in which Shownu is a mafia leader wrecking all kinds of havoc... and Wonho is his second in command and Hyungwon is his rival and Changkyun owns a strip club and Kihyun sells expensive jewelry and Minhyuk and Jooheon are cute ass boyfriendsInspired by this tweet: https://twitter.com/ii_shownu/status/1241713033652711430?s=20
Relationships: Lee Jooheon/Lee Minhyuk, Son Hyunwoo | Shownu/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Um so... hello there. A few days ago I was scrolling through twitter and saw a shownu bf material thread and saw the tweet you see in the summary. Needless to say I was inspired and I did way too much research on the mafia and decided to write this fic. I really hope you enjoy it (‘-’*)

Chapter 1

  
  


It was almost midnight and I, in my sleepy state, headed to the bathroom to get a drink of water. I don’t know what happened in my dreams but now I was thirsty. Or it could be from the nerves about my job interviews tomorrow. Luckily, the bathroom wasn’t far off from my bedroom in the upstairs area. My parents had given me the upstairs bedroom so that way I could have privacy. Since I was now an adult, they felt it was crucial to have space to myself. I definitely had no problem agreeing with that. 

Our house was small. Well, it was big for a city house, but I definitely felt squeezed in with my two parents and me. It really made me glad to be an only child because god, I would’ve ripped everyone’s throats out by this point. 

I hadn’t lived here my entire life. My life consisted of lots of moving around especially in and around the city. And I had my suspicions as to why but I never dwelled on those too much. Mostly because it was too scary for me to face. My mom would always give me valid reasons such as it was cheaper in a certain area or that it would be closer to my dad’s new job (he’s had a lot of different jobs). And yeah, I followed blindly because it was easier than thinking of the other options that my brain came up with. Ones that were probably more correct but I wouldn’t get into them. 

Because those problems were scarier than the ones my mom offered. They required me to be worried about my parents as if I wasn’t already worried about them enough. And these problems had complicated solutions that I wouldn’t know how to solve. And these problems were violent and threatening. But my parents always seemed to have it under control. So maybe these problems were just speculation. I hadn’t seen it and therefore it couldn’t be true. There was no reason to not believe my mom when she said it was just easier to live somewhere else.

This house was our longest living arrangement, so it was impossible not to love it. It was tight but I definitely felt comfortable. My room had a nice view of the street below. I loved to leave the windows open to hear the city sounds. It was also nice for natural light which always pepped me up in the mornings. It was also nice to have my own space. I could listen to music and dance around without my parents watching. I could take baths and not have to worry about my parents complaining about the length I spend in the bathroom. I had my own space to just exist and forget about my troubles. Our house also had a small yard that I loved to read in during the springs and summers. I also played with my friends there when I was younger but now we just chill in my room mostly. It was also a nice space to meditate when things seemed to get out of control. We had a tree back there that the birds loved to chill in so the sounds always calmed me. 

This is a house with memories and many stories to tell. It was finally a place where I felt safe. I could exist here and be happy at the same time. I never wanted to leave it. And god, I really hoped I didn’t have to. I told my mom that many times and she definitely agreed it has been the best place we’ve lived. Our family life has been much happier since moving here I’ve definitely noticed. 

It feels so good.

I grabbed a little cup from my dispenser and filled it to the brim with water from my bathroom faucet, eyeing my reflection in the mirror. My bed hair was all over the place and my eyes definitely looked exhausted. I drank the water and let out a satisfactory exhale. I headed back to my room, making sure to turn off the bathroom light on my way out. I wanted to get back to bed before I lost my sleepy mood so I could crash immediately. 

My body stopped at my bedroom door when I heard whispering coming from downstairs. I told myself that I shouldn’t let my curiosity get the best of me. My parents were probably just talking about their days or maybe their plans for tomorrow, or even possibly what they needed to get from the grocery store tomorrow. Tomorrow, well today probably by now, is Friday which means it’s grocery day. 

But my brain somehow didn’t believe any of those things though. Because deep down I had a feeling I knew what they were talking about. The lump in my throat started to form. I told myself that I shouldn’t listen to it. It wasn’t anything that needed to be heard at this hour. I just need to sleep. Go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day of job interviews and I needed to be well-rested. 

I kept telling myself to go back to my room as my legs stepped down the first step. Then again when I stepped down the second step. The third step. My brain still screamed at me to run back as I plopped down against the wall right before the handrail started the rest of the way down. I wasn’t about to blow my cover. My brain was still telling me I had time to run back up and go right to bed. My curiosity though had officially taken over. There was no going back up.

“What are we going to do?” I heard my mom’s voice ask. The fear was definitely present in her shaky voice. 

I closed my eyes and told myself this wasn’t it. This wasn’t about what I think it’s about. It’s not. It couldn’t be. It wouldn’t be. I had snooped on similar conversations before. And I knew that it wasn’t good. My stomach tied itself into knots and I suddenly felt sick. I exhaled softly to try and calm my nerves. But they wouldn’t go away. Not until this was over. 

“I will deal with it honey,” My dad whispered. 

He was definitely trying to comfort her but I knew that it wouldn’t happen. It was going to be an anxious time for us. The comfort would come when this was all over. But it would probably never be really over. So I had to be comfortable with the other options. The options that scared me and made me sad. My life was really going to be uplifted again. All because of this…. This  _ thing _ . 

It was something that haunted our family for years and, considering how at peace my life has been for a really long time, I thought it was gone. I thought my dad had finally rid it of our lives. But it clearly wasn’t. It was still here. Still coming after us. 

“That’s what you always say,” my mom finally replied.

“And I have. We’re okay. We will be okay. I promise.”

I took my dad’s words to my heart. He did have a point. We have always been okay. None of us have been hurt or harmed (although I’m not entirely sure about my dad coming out unscathed). Even though we have gone through a lot of emotional turmoil and uplifting of our lives and routine, we always made it out alive. And this time will be no different. Hopefully.

God, I really hope this time will be no different.

I got up from the step and rushed to my room since I really heard all I needed to hear. I wouldn’t be going back to sleep of course. The anxiety of everything had taken over. I was scared and preparing myself for the inevitable conversation I would be having with my parents. I didn’t know when that would happen but I knew it would be soon.

My head was swimming in possibilities as I stared at the dark ceiling. I didn’t want to be angry at my dad. This wasn’t his fault. He was literally only trying his best. He was doing his best for us. What was happening was out of his and our control. And there was nothing he could except try to get it bearable. He was manipulated and under control of something bigger than us. Much bigger.

But I couldn’t help but be pissed at him from bringing this on us. How could he do such a thing to his family? How could he make us vulnerable? I was probably going to be ripped from my life again. The sense of normalcy that I had been living in for the past eight or so years was about to be gone. I was tired of living my life on the same repeat cycle. I get comfortable in one place and begin to find a sense of routine and then this bullshit happens and we move and then I have to start all over again. It’s stupid. All because he had to do something stupid.

Sure, I definitely don’t know the entire story or if my suspicions were just that: suspicions. But something bigger than me was certainly in control and there was nothing I could do to make it all better. Not without putting myself in danger anyway. And I certainly liked living on most days. So it was all a no go for me. 

I couldn’t help but feel helpless. I wish I could make this all go away. This needed to go away. I turned my head over in my pillow and let out a scream. Why did this have to be my life? 

~~~

I tried to cover the dark circles under my eyes with makeup and ended up rather successful. There was no way I could turn up tired to an interview. Especially since this particular interview was at a coffee shop. The whole business revolves around being awake. I’m not new to interviews either and so I know that you certainly don’t show up to one looking exhausted. You have to look your absolute best. Which means looking awake and ready for what the world has to throw at you. 

Like your life being upheaved.

I made my way to the shop that was luckily only a few blocks away. I wouldn’t have to waste my paycheck on subway fares or taxis to get me to work. Plus, I get exercise. Which will definitely clear my head in the impending crisis I was about to have. 

I gripped my resume tighter in my hand trying to not let anger get the best of me. I would be damned if my normal gets ripped from me again. So I hoped I would get this job and I would be able to help my parents in any way they needed. Or at least help a little. It was a minimum wage job after all. 

I took a deep breath as I saw the sign not too far ahead. I was going to get this job. They couldn’t  _ not _ hire me. I’m the perfect employee and have worked many, many jobs to prove it. I was a shoo-in for this job. But even then, I still couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Especially since I barely got any sleep last night. My brain was all over the place. 

My sweaty hand grabbed the handle to the shop and I stepped into the threshold. The scent of coffee overwhelmed my nostrils and the sounds of early morning conversations took over my ears. This place was popular. I had no idea. 

I perked up at the sound of the male barista behind the cash register, “Hi! Welcome to Carrie’s Coffee! Where our beans are roasted hot in house daily just like me.”

I heard an exasperated sigh from the female coworker who was making coffee beside him, “I told you to stop saying that.”

“What? I only want to make people laugh,” the guy said.

“It’s stupid.”

The boy, who was wearing a nametag that said Minhyuk on it, pouted and turned to me. His face quickly turned from a pout to a smile that lit up the whole room. If there was anybody made to be in this business it was him. Even if his opening lines are unfunny and stupid. At least he tried. And I’m sure it made a few people laugh. It certainly made me calmer. This place was definitely going to be a chill place to work.

“What can I get you today?” He asked.

“I uh… I’m actually here for an interview… For a job,” I explained.

“Oh cool. I’ll go get Carrie. What’s your name?” 

“Cora.”

“Alright, you can have a seat while I go get her!” 

“Thanks,” I said as he walked off. 

I took a seat at a small table near the back of the shop. My resume was a little wrinkled now from me gripping it so tightly. There was nothing to be nervous about but I couldn’t help but feel the anxiety. There were other jobs if I didn’t get this one. It would be okay. I read over my resume to make sure it was okay. It’s not like I could fix it now, but it made me feel a little less nervous. 

Time went so slow for the few minutes that I was waiting, but eventually, an older woman approached my table. She looked to be in her late 40s and she had cat-eye glasses with the cutest cat cardigan on. In one of her hands was a clipboard. This woman would be heaven to work for. I could already sense the fun mom energy. Especially since she hired someone like the boy barista. I had already forgotten his name. I stood up to greet her.

“You must be Cora,” she stated.

“Yes, that’s me. Nice to meet you.”

After a brief handshake, she turned to the counter, “Minhyuk, get this girl a small coffee.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He yelled way too loudly across the restaurant.

We both sat down at the table and I passed her my resume. My hand was clearly shaking. Coffee would definitely not make this situation any better. Minhyuk came over with a cup and I took an obligatory sip and smiled.

“Oh, honey I could care less about your resume. I want people in my business who are fun and have good energy. People come in here for a pick me up and they don’t deserve anything less than someone who can make their morning. So would you say you fit that?” 

She was straight forward but definitely fun. Maybe she would be strict but all moms are. And she was definitely that. 

I nodded, “Yeah. I mean my mom always said I had been full of laughter since I came out of the womb. My outlook on life is always so positive and I feel like I’m always smiling. I feel like my whole purpose in this world is to make change one smile at a time.” 

That was so cheesy. But the look on Carrie’s face told me she ate it up. 

“I like that. You have a very calm aura about you Cora,” she said. If only she knew the kind of stress I was under at this very moment. “I think you’d be a great fit in this little shop. When can you start?”

I was taken aback, “Wait, you’re serious?”

“Hell yeah I am! Now when can you start?”

“Uh… Literally anytime you need me to,” I answered. I was still shocked.

“Alright. Uh… I have Minhyuk working pretty much the entire week and he’s the only one I trust to train anyone. He’s a veteran. Been with me for over five years. So you pick your day.”

“Can I do Wednesday?” I asked. That would give me time to prepare for a new job and also give me time to receive possible news that could make me quit the job as quickly as I began. 

She nodded and wrote on her clipboard, “Alright I have you down for Wednesday at 9 am.”

“Sounds good.”

We stood from the table and she directed me to the counter. “Minhyuk meet Cora, you’re going to train her on Wednesday.”

“Ayy! Legend of Cora! Sweet! Welcome to the shop!” He practically screamed while giving me finger guns.

Was he always this excited and full of stupid puns? Either way, I couldn’t help but giggle. He was certainly cute and full of youthful energy. It was going to be a fun time working with him. This was the type of energy I needed in my life right now. It might get annoying and loud quickly but I will certainly try to get along with him as best as I can.

“Alright, Cora. See you Wednesday. Remember 9 am,” Carrie said to me with a final handshake.

I nodded, “See you then.”

And with a sweet mom smile, she walked off probably back into her office. I turned to Minhyuk and he smiled. 

“Do you like working here?” I asked. 

He nodded, “Yep! I’ve been here for five years and I have no plans on leaving. I love meeting new people.”

I nodded, “Cool. I can’t wait to work with you. You seem fun.”

“Back at you!” 

I blushed and put a strand of hair behind my ear. Oh no, I was not catching feelings. But he was definitely cute. His black hair that curled off the back of his neck and brown eyes that sparkled in the morning sunlight. Not to mention his smile that just made the room feel warm. He had such a friendly aura. You couldn’t help but feel instantly comfortable with him. My heart was racing a little.

“Well see you Wednesday,” I said. I had to get out of here.

“See you around Cora!” He yelled out with a wave.

~~~

I was home alone for a little while. Mom said she would be back from work late and dad, was always all over the place so I never knew when he’d be home. So, I decided to take this as my opportunity to have some self-care relaxation time. I ran a bath and put a lavender bath bomb in and watched as it foamed and turned the bath water purple. Candles were lit, and some relaxing classical music was playing from my Bluetooth speaker because that was what calmed me the most. It felt like a movie but I loved it. I climbed in and propped my feet up at the end of the tub. 

An exhale came from my mouth as I settled in the hotness of the bathwater. My skin will probably get burned off but at least I would be relaxed. All of my worries were to stay away at this moment. This was my time to relax. I had a new job which meant money which meant I wouldn’t have to leave this house. And not to mention I would probably make a new friend at this job. Although, it would be cute if we became something bigger. It was good. Maybe life wouldn’t turn out so bad. 

And maybe the worries I was having was just my imaginative brain playing tricks on me. I don’t know what mom and dad were talking about last night. This was just my anxious brain taking things out of proportion. My dad, after all, had said he had this under control. And I had nothing to do but believe him. Because the other times he had said he had this under control, he did. The worries seemed to go away and everything went back to normal. The tension in the house became less and my parents seemed happier about life. So I had to believe this would happen again.

I had nothing to worry about. 

“Everything will be okay Cora,” I told myself softly as I relaxed more. The bathwater started to burn my skin less.

I was on the third movement of the New World Symphony and my bathwater was starting to get cold when I heard the doorbell ring. I groaned because god damn, they really have to interrupt my own relaxing time. This was all I had and now it was being interrupted probably by some Mormons who wanted to preach god to me. They didn’t have to know that I was home. I definitely didn’t have to know about God. I learned all I needed to learn in Sunday School when I was younger and I quickly realized that God was not there for me. If God existed then he would’ve gotten us out of this shitty situation. 

Another ring. 

Just ignore it Cora, I told myself. Don’t let anyone ruin my time to myself.

But then the rings turned into banging on the door. I sat up in the tub, making water splash over the sides. Suddenly, I was frozen in that spot. My heart started pounding in my chest. My stomach started turning and I felt sick all of the sudden. I used my remote to turn off the music. The house became all too quiet that you could hear the wicks in the candles crackling. I held my breath in hopes that it would go away. Moments seemed to pass like hours at this moment. I gripped the side of the tub and looked out the bathroom door that was slightly ajar. Almost as if a creature was going to jump through the door and eat my face. 

The silence went on for a few moments and I felt I was clear. I shakily grabbed my remote to turn on my speaker again when there was another bang on the door. I jumped slightly out of fear. I was shaking as I quickly got out of the tub and got dressed. These guys were definitely not Mormons coming to preach to me about God. In fact, it was probably the opposite. These guys were here to give me hell. 

My shaking hands tried to pull a shirt over my head but I kept fumbling. I had put my shirt on backward but at least I had one on. Then I fumbled into some pajama pants, trying not to fall over. But I could barely feel my legs. My fight or flight mode was officially activated. There was another bang at the door and I knew if I didn’t get down there soon something else would happen. Something I didn’t want to think about.

I practically skipped every other step as I made my way downstairs to the door. My breath was shaky as was my entire body still was as well. My heart was practically popping out of my chest as I looked through a small slit in the blinds on the door. Two men in fancy suits and ties were standing there. One looked like the other one’s bodyguard. He was so muscular that his suit sleeves were getting ready to rip under the tension. The other guy was lankier but he still had some muscle on him. And I knew what they were here for.

These guys definitely meant business. They practically had “Do not fuck with us” written in a sign above them that lit up in bright colors. I stepped away from the door slowly because even though I didn’t know who these guys were, I still knew. Deep down I definitely knew what these guys were here for. Who they were here for. And the means they would take to get it. And the terror I was feeling was officially through the roof. I had never seen these guys before. In my life. I had no idea what was going on and that terrified me. Why are they suddenly appearing at my doorstep?

They banged on the door again and one of them yelled, “IF YOU DON’T OPEN THE DOOR IN TEN SECONDS WE’LL OPEN IT FOR YOU!”

I had to run. It was the only way I could escape this madness. And now, it was becoming too real. All the times of snooping on my parent’s conversations, it all seemed under control. My dad always gave me peace of mind. That this wouldn’t affect our lives. But now, this time it was different. This was out of everyone’s control now. And I needed to run. 

The seconds ticked down in my head. 

5.

I had to protect myself.

3.

My shaky and sweaty hand grabbed the doorknob.

1.

I opened the door.

The muscular guy with big ears took his hand off the handle of his gun that was not so discrete at his side. Oh my god, he was actually getting ready to shoot through the door. I would’ve actually died today. My life flashed before my eyes at that moment. A lump was in my throat and I was going to cry in any second. I cursed my dad in my head for doing this to me.

“Hey, sweetheart,” The muscular guy greeted. He was really trying to sweet-talk his way into my house. Right after he was getting ready to shoot me. “Is Patrick home?”

I shook my head, fearing that I would cry if I opened my mouth. And I was not about to cry to two strange men who were threatening my life. My sweaty hands bunched together at my sides trying to provide some comfort to myself. I needed to find control of my body because everything else was out. I watched as they both looked at each other and let out defeated sighs. There was a brief moment when the muscular guy and I made eye contact. He must’ve seen my distraught state because what came next honestly surprised me.

“Alright thank you. Sorry for bothering,” the same guy said as they walked off with waves. He didn’t ask to search for him and he was being really polite. Despite the fact that he literally almost killed me. I watched as they got into a black Mercedes and drove off.

I closed the door and locked it behind me. My shaking body slid down the door. The tears fell freely from my eyes. My breathing became uncontrollable and I slipped into a panic attack. Because now, a situation that was once under control, was no longer under control. And all of the suspicions I had about this situation were true. My parents hid this from me for so long and now it’s here. And I have to deal with it now too. 

I rocked myself back and forth trying to find some comfort. I cursed my dad in the process. Because he brought this to me. He promised to keep me safe and he told me all the time that there was nothing to worry about. But he broke it. I almost got shot for fuck’s sake. All because he had to be stupid. And I cursed my mom for not being honest with me. For making me believe false lies and giving me false hope that everything would be okay. Things were not okay. 

They would never be okay. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

  
  


There was an indescribable tension in the house these past few days. Maybe it was coming from my own psyche because I was not going to tell my parents that I almost got shot. Or that those guys, whoever they were, were here and they were looking for dad. I’m sure dad knew that he was being hunted. Something told me he definitely knew that these guys were after him. So, worrying him more about the situation was something I didn’t need to do.

What I wanted the most from this whole debacle are answers.

Because goddammit I am twenty-two years old. I’m an adult and can handle tough information. I had been snooping on my parents for as long as I’ve been alive. And sure, I got answers this way but I want to hear it to my face. I wanted honesty because it was very clear now that all of these years have been a lie. And I can understand protecting my young, fragile brain when I was like eight but I’m not young nor am I fragile anymore. Sure, I would not to like get shot but I’m definitely not fragile in hearing information about those guys. I’m a hardened veteran to heartbreak and fear. I could take it. 

I looked at my ceiling telling myself to get out of bed. I had to be at work in an hour and I had to look my best. But the lack of sleep I had gotten the past couple days was definitely showing. Every time I closed my eyes I couldn’t help but see that guy’s hand on his gun. He was mere seconds from pulling it from his holster. I was mere seconds from death. I took a deep breath to control my nerves. 

I wasn’t going to let this affect me today. The new job took precedence over those bullshit men who decided to bang their way into my life. Chances are that I would never see them again and so why was I worrying about it too much? I would go into work today and forget about the entire situation. Minhyuk would probably have a way of making me laugh anyway. 

That thought alone was enough to get me out of bed. There was a new friend that was going to be in my life at my brand new job with new money. But Minhyuk was definitely a big reason to make that money. God, he was so cute. I thought about his smile which made me smile. The way his fringe settled over his eyes and the way he pushed it away softly. He was gentle and friends with everyone. At least that what it seemed and I hoped it was genuine. Because quite frankly my heart was racing and I didn’t want it to break. 

Minhyuk was just really fucking cute and I couldn’t wait to see him again. My mind flooded with daydreams about him training me while I got dressed. The way he would probably excitedly yell about the different types of coffees about the different ways to prepare them. I couldn’t wait for him to tell me about how he does the customer side of things. I would probably walk out of there with many, many coffee puns thanks to him. And then there would be the small talk. I couldn’t wait to get to know more about him. What made him excited, what his life outside work is like. I blushed at the possibilities. 

I tied my hair up because it was a part of the dress code (the only thing actually required in the dress code which was weird to me) and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Considering my lack of sleep, I didn’t look too bad. I looked ready to welcome customers to Carrie’s Coffee where the beans are roasted fresh in house daily. Although I feel like that was not what we were supposed to officially greet with. Minhyuk probably came up with that so he could make a joke about him being a joke. I giggled to myself. 

After making sure I was physically and emotionally prepared for the day ahead, I grabbed my keys and made my way downstairs. Mom and dad were both at work at this time so the house was very quiet. I went to the back door in the kitchen to make sure it was locked before I left. This wasn’t my paranoia about those guys coming, although it did heighten my suspicions. It was something my parents always told me to do. So I have for as long as I’ve been staying home alone. 

After doing a safety check on the house, I made my way out the door to my new job with the cute barista that I needed to be friends with. 

~~~

I hadn’t even stepped into the threshold of the shop. In fact, I had the door barely open and Minhyuk’s voice was already calling out to me. “Legend of Cora! Good morning! Are you ready for a busy day of training today?” 

I smiled in his direction as I dragged my body into the shop, “Yeah let’s do this.” 

My feet semi dragged themselves to a spot that was behind the counter but not to get in Minhyuk’s way. His tongue was sticking out of his lips and his eyes were furrowed in concentration as he made some latte art. He smiled proudly as he completed a flower. He turned the cup to me as if he was a young child showing his mom his finger painting. I smiled and he gave it to the woman who was waiting in front of him.

“Enjoy!” He gleefully requested and then turned to face me, “One day I’ll learn how to make whales and that will be all I make. But the flowers are fine for now.”

I giggled. I was already learning so much and it’s been only a few seconds. “You like whales?”

“I LOVE WHALES!” His body bounced like a kid during a sugar rush. People who were enjoying their morning coffee in relative silence turned their heads to face the excited blonde haired kid. 

“Alrighty then.”

I thought that was the end and we could start my training. Minhyuk, ever excited that I brought up his favorite topic apparently, continued on though, “They are so big and majestic. I feel like they give me a lot of success. Plus, because they’re so big they can carry me and my loved ones wherever I want to go. I have a whale tattoo on my knee. Wanna see it?” 

I felt like my head was spinning. My god he talks so fast. But I did appreciate a good tattoo when I saw one. Tattoos are so fucking hot. I blushed because Minhyuk was turning out to be weirdly perfect. “Sure.”

Minhyuk pulled up his sweatpant leg to reveal a black whale on the side of his knee. “I had an injury a few years back and had to have surgery. I felt kinda gross with the scar because it was just a constant reminder of the terrible time I had. So I went and got it done.” He rolled his pant leg down but he wasn’t finished, “I also have _ tons _ of whale plushies back home. They take up like half the bed and so I have to lay them on the floor before I go to sleep. But I love them all. Whales make me feel safe and protected.”

I didn’t really know how to reply to any of this so I just nodded and said, “That’s cute.”

His sunshine smile came across his face. Boy, I could never get tired of seeing that smile. No wonder Carrie loves him so much. He’s got that childlike innocence about him that makes you feel all warm inside with the stupidest humor known to man. And the fact that he’s been here for so long shows just how much the world has barely affected him. I’m sure he’s dealt with some shitty people who have probably torn him down. But the fact that he still wears that smile and yells dumb puns shows the confidence he has. Also, from the way he was practically jumping out of his shoes, showed that he probably had a coffee addiction. 

But aside that point, I think I was going to learn much more than just making cute latte flowers. Something inside of me told me that Minhyuk was in my life to teach me something. And I think I already know what it is. 

“Well, are you ready to train?” He asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I nodded. The nerves started to creep in a little. It was never easy being the new guy at a job.

“Alright cool! So first you’re gonna need an apron,” He led me to an area behind a wall where blue aprons hung on a rack, “You can take anyone they’re cleaned by Carrie frequently. And Carrie said she’d get you a hat and a nametag as soon as possible. She’s not here today by the way. It’s just me and you.” 

The thought excited me. This would give me more time to learn about him and get closer to him. It also allowed him to focus only on me. And while that was definitely selfish, I didn’t care. 

I grabbed an apron from a rack and put it on while he watched me. It was like I was already being given a performance review and Minhyuk was grading every little aspect of my job. Once I had tied a satisfactory knot behind my back, he dragged me over to the counter. His hand was firm on my wrist which made my stomach turn into butterflies. My eyes were looking at the place where our skin made contact. The warmth from his hand made my skin feel like it was on fire. I couldn’t help but blush. When he let go, I felt like I had been thrown from heaven. 

“Okay so. How much do you know about making coffee? Because this is very different than making it from home. Do you drink coffee at all?” He asked. I really wanted to know what went on this guy’s mind. He went down so many tracks at once most of the time. 

“Um… I drink coffee sometimes. I don’t know anything about doing it with highly specialized equipment though. It seems really difficult if you ask me.” 

He gave me a reassuring smile which made me get all shy. I put a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s really not that difficult when you get used to it. You just have to memorize recipes. But, there’s the handy dandy recipe card right here,” he grabbed a little flip book that was hanging on the coffee machine, “So if you ever get lost. And we don’t just do coffee. We do smoothies, milkshakes, and Italian sodas. Our milkshakes are actually really popular. They were actually featured in the local food magazine! Although, I have a feeling you’ll be working in the mornings with me so you probably won’t make many of them. But they’re easy to make. I totally recommend that you try one of them before you leave.”

I nodded. Should I be taking notes? The way his brain moved there was no way I would be able to remember everything. 

“Okay so a small tour. This is the coffee machine,” He said pointing to the big machine on the front counter next to the register, “This is where all the magic happens. Back here we have the espresso machine, not expresso. Essss. Presso. And then the blender for the frozen drinks. We have fridges under there with the fruit, milk, and the freezer for ice cream. We also serve baked goods too but we make them fresh once so when we run out, we run out. But we never have that problem usually. Any questions so far?” Minhyuk turned to face me. 

I looked at the floor then back up at those brown suns for eyes, “Not really.”

“Well stop me if you have any questions.”

The rest of the morning was Minhyuk taking me through the steps on how to make practically everything on the menu. This allowed me to try many things so I could give the best recommendation to customers. He also allowed me to make drinks for various customers who came in. His eyes were watchful over me in case I missed a step or messed up. If I did, he was quick to reassure me that I was doing a good job and that I was still learning. 

He was literally the kindest person I had ever met. Because in my years of moving around to different schools around the city and country, I was always met with harsh criticism. It was never easy being the new girl anywhere. And jobs were always no different. Customers were never forgiving that you were still learning the ropes and managers were typically highly expecting of you. Especially since I had loads and loads of experience. I had to know this already. 

And don’t get me started on making friends. Doing that anywhere was always difficult for me. I was always the shy kid anyway but to be thrown into new environments all the time. It was never easy to adjust. I spent a lot of life alone. Not that I didn’t mind it. I definitely got used to it after a while. Having friends, if I made them, come and go in my life was just the norm. So I lived and I moved on. 

But Minhyuk seemed different. Sure, it was only a day but I felt instantly comfortable with him. He seemed to share a lot with me and while I was not ready to open up to him, I felt like maybe I could. His presence was warm and safe. I had a feeling he would probably stick around. Even after I possibly moved again. I hoped anyway. He was someone I needed in my life.

To be honest, Minhyuk was someone everybody needed in their life. 

And I just wondered why no one was falling in love with him like I was. I mean, he hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend and so I assumed he was single. Or maybe he just didn’t bring his personal life to work. But he certainly would’ve brought it up amongst everything else. I certainly learned a lot about him but his relationship status was not one of them. 

As the day went on, we talked more, and I learned more. I especially learned a lot about whales and I got shown loads of pictures of Minhyuk’s whale plushies. He talked about them like they were his own children. I thought that was very cute. I also learned about how he came to work here and we learned we’re very close in age, him being a year older than me. It was all perfect that I hadn’t even realized that it was already 2:30 and that we were supposed to leave in thirty minutes. At least I would see him again tomorrow.

“I’m going to head to the bathroom really quick. I know you can handle this. I doubt anyone will walk in while I’m gone but if you feel lost, I’ll be out quickly,” He said as he patted my shoulder.

And the anxiety set in. It wasn’t going to be long but what if a bunch of people walked in at once. Knowing my luck, that would probably happen. I definitely felt comfortable doing some things, like taking orders and smoothies and milkshakes but coffee was complicated. So I just really hoped that no one walked through that door. 

I made sure everything was clean for the next few people who would come in after us. Then I heard the bell above the door ring and I cursed to myself. Oh god. Hopefully this person would order something easy. 

I turned my head to face the person. It was a guy who quite frankly looked very intimidating to me. He was taller than me and he was wearing all black. His hair was also black, with fringe falling in his face. The way he walked told the world that he was the most confident person in the world. Don’t cross his path and he won’t cross you. When he got closer, I noticed some earrings that were definitely expensive as fuck. He also wore necklaces and they looked fancy as shit as well. This was a guy I definitely had to please.

“H-Hi,” I stammered, “Um… What can I get for you today?”

“I’ll have the usual.”

My eyes widened because I had no idea on who this guy was and what his “usual” was. And I definitely didn’t want to ask him. He might beat me up if I do. Then, his face broke from his serious scowl into a smile and I felt relaxed. He had dimples as big as his cheeks. And his eyes were soft. Then he started laughing. What the fuck was happening? 

“I’m playing. I mean I have a usual but I know you’re new here plus, I only let Minhyuk make it anyway. He is here isn’t he?” The guy asked.

“Yeah. He’s in the bathroom. He’ll be out shortly.”

“Okay. But you can ring me up for an iced americano with double espresso and double cream added and whipped cream on top,” He said as he handed me some cash. 

I did as I was told as Minhyuk came from the bathroom. “Honey!” He screamed as he walked over to the man. 

They clearly knew each other. When I looked up and saw them kissing, it was very clear that they knew each other. And very intimately at that. I could tell from the way Minhyuk’s boyfriend was looking at his lover. It was like he was the only person in the room. His hand came up to push hair from Minhyuk’s eyes as Minhyuk was talking about how much he missed him. 

I looked back down and blushed. I felt like I was watching something I shouldn’t be. Plus, the embarrassment of having a crush on a gay guy made me feel awkward. I definitely flirted with him a little bit here and there today. There was no way I could do that again. A small giggle came out of my mouth. Sometimes life really was hilarious. Of course I had to form a crush on a gay guy. I mean I wasn’t upset and quite frankly, they were fucking cute. But it would definitely explain why he seemed so clueless to my advances. 

“Do you want your usual?” Minhyuk asked him as he came behind the counter. 

“Of course,” his boyfriend said with his dimpley smile. 

“Oh Honey. This is Cora. She’s the new girl I was telling you about. Cora, this is Jooheon, my boyfriend,” Minhyuk introduced. 

I gave a smile to Jooheon and he returned on and nodded a hello. Minhyuk went to town making his drink. I handed Jooheon his change.

“How did you guys meet?” I asked. 

Jooheon’s eyes squinted as his smile grew wider. Okay this was adorable. When he opened his mouth to speak Minhyuk interrupted. 

“We met here actually. It wasn’t too long after I had started working here. He came into the shop with his powerful charisma and asked me to make him his usual drink. I was new so of course I didn’t really know who he was. So he kind of threw a fake tantrum because he was the most clientele we had. Of course that’s not true--”

“Well not yet anyway. Just wait and see,” Jooheon intercepted.

“Of course babe. But anyway, after scaring the shit out of me, we had a laugh about it. And I fell in love with his smile almost instantly. And when he walked out I thought I would never see him again. But he kept coming in when I worked--”

“Because I wanted to keep seeing you, baby.”

“Stop making me blush,” Minhyuk smiled as he added cream to the drink, “And I guess he was flirting with me a lot but I’m kinda clueless to that stuff. So eventually he just asked me out. Of course I said yes. And we’ve been together for five years now.”

Jooheon nodded, “Yep.”

“That’s so cute oh my god,” I commented. 

Jooheon smiled at me as he took his drink from his boyfriend. “We’re cute.”

“Yeah you are.”

Minhyuk reached over the counter and playfully slapped Jooheon, “Just try the drink and tell me what you think.”

“You know I’m going to say that it’s good,” he said before taking a sip, “And it is. It’s perfect like you.” 

“You’re so gross,” Minhyuk whispered as he smiled to himself. His cheeks were red.

I giggled at their little interactions as I wiped down the counter in front of me. Man, to be young and in love. It was truly beautiful. I was very happy for Minhyuk to have someone who clearly made him so happy. They were a very cute couple, one that you just wanted to punch in the face while yelling, “Stop being so cute!!!!!” It was painful to watch but in the best way possible. 

And his boyfriend was certainly a character. Jooheon definitely looked very intimidating at first but he had the softest face ever. And his confidence was almost contagious. He made me stand up straighter for sure. He was also very good looking and I would be the first to admit that. Him and Minhyuk certainly made the most good looking couple ever. 

“So what do you do?” I asked Jooheon.

He swallowed a sip of his drink, “I’m a rapper. I do a lot of underground shit but I’m trying to make it big of course.”

“Oh that’s cool. So you do a lot of shows I assume.”

“Yeah I do. I actually have one coming up soon… On Friday actually, if you want to come.” 

“I’m so down!”

Minhyuk gasped, “We could go together! It would be so much fun. We could get dinner beforehand and then drinks after to celebrate. You don’t have to drink of course. But it would be so cool to hang out with you.”

“That sounds really fun. I’m down for that,” I stated.

“Hell yes! Honey your two biggest fans are going to cheer you on.”

Me and Jooheon laughed. I definitely wasn’t his biggest fan. I hadn’t even heard any of his music. But I would certainly cheer him on. 

“I’m excited,” Jooheon said.

“Me too,” Minhyuk replied.

I smiled at the both of them. It was so hard to believe that I had only been working here a day but I had already made plans to hang out with my  _ two _ new friends. It was a strange feeling. I was already fitting in a crowd and I didn’t know what to do with myself. But I was so happy regardless. I was going to go with the flow and enjoy the show on Friday with Minhyuk. 

“You get off at three right baby?” Jooheon asked.

Minhyuk nodded, “Yeah. But Penelope is always late and I have to wait until she gets here before I can leave.”

“I… I can stay if you want,” I offered.

Minhyuk grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. His voice got all dramatic, “No. I would never do such a thing to a newbie. Leaving you here alone for god knows how long. You’d be lost. Plus, Penelope… Well she’s something and I would never leave you here alone. She’d eat you up.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

“Nope. You will leave. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.”

“Minhyuk…”

“Nope. Now you have ten minutes before you can leave. Can you please wash the cups in the sink?” When did he become my mother?

“Yes Mom.”

Jooheon burst into laughter, practically spitting out his drink onto the floor. Minhyuk glared at him. I snickered as I walked into the back to a small pile of cups in the sink. I put on some gloves and finished my work for the day. Smiling to myself the entire time, daydreaming about the adventures I would go on with these guys. 

~~~

I hadn’t sat down for dinner with my family since… The incident because I couldn’t face them. They didn’t know that I knew and I didn’t want to risk it. But after getting home from work, my mom asked me to sit in at dinner tonight. And her being my mom, I certainly had no choice. Plus, I was in a good mood from my day at work.

I freshened myself up in the shower and got dressed in my casual clothes. My mom had already set the table as dad walked through the door. He looked tired and stressed. I mean I don’t blame him. He worked really hard all the time and he was being chased, so of course that would take a toll on your body and mind. My mom gave him a kiss on the cheek after greeting him. 

We all sat at the table together and my mom told us about her day. It didn’t interest me particularly so I just got my servings of the delicious meal that was sprawled out in front of me. I hadn’t eaten all day. 

“How was your day Cora?” My dad asked in his deep, husky voice. 

I had been filling my mouth with food that I had barely processed his question. Once I swallowed my food I answered him, “Oh it was actually super good! There’s a guy I work at, at the coffee shop, his name is Minhyuk and he’s so nice! We basically hit it off and his boyfriend came in the shop today--”

“Oh he’s gay?” My mom perked up.

“Yeah. But that doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it doesn’t I was… wondering is all.”

“Well yeah he’s gay and his boyfriend is a rapper. They are so fuc--freakin’ adorable. Anyway, his boyfriend’s name is Jooheon and he has a show on Friday. Minhyuk invited me along so I’m going! I’m so excited about it,” I finished explaining.

“That’s wonderful Cora. I’m glad you’re making some friends,” my mom said as she spooned some vegetables onto her plate.

“Yeah you’d really like them. They’re both super sweet.”

“I bet.”

“What about you, dad? How was your day?” I asked, facing my tired father.

He sighed, “Just the usual. Long.”

I awkwardly giggled, “Well you’re home now.”

He nodded and took his fork in his hand and stabbed the meat on his plate. As always it was really awkward and now my mind was reminiscing on the situation. Maybe they had come after him. He didn’t look particularly well and so I assumed. Suddenly, my appetite and good mood were ruined.

I took a deep breath, “Can I be excused?”

My mom looked at me concerned, “Are you okay Cora?”

“Yeah. I just… I’m full.” I had barely touched my food.

My mom sighed, “Alright.”

So I went upstairs and didn’t leave my bed. I blasted music from my speaker, trying to distract my brain from all this madness. My dad was in a hole. He was so deep in a hole that it didn’t look like he could get out. It was dark and scary down there and I certainly didn’t want to go in. But I don’t think I could be stopped from grabbing my shovel and doing something about it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

  
  
  


The rest of this week had been relatively normal. Well, physically. Emotionally, not so much. I spent a lot of it stressed and anxious about my father. When he came home on Thursday, he looked even worse than the night before. I couldn’t even bear to look at him without wanting to cry… or throw up. Or both. His expression was pained and silent when asked anything, made my heart break. I spent all of that night crying in bed wishing I could do something. 

But it would be hard to fix a situation that I had no actual knowledge about and had no business butting my head into. I had no answers about this and there was no way I was going to make my father bring it up. It was a clearly painful topic that he needed to escape from and I wasn’t going to be the person to ruin that for him. So I guess I just had to live with this pain. The pain that my father will forever have this shadow behind him and I could do nothing to fix it.

That was the final thought I had before getting ready for work. I had to put my game face on now. And at least Minhyuk and I were working together today and we had Jooheon’s concert tonight. So I knew I’d be able to escape this madness in my mind.

In fact, Minhyuk and I had worked together yesterday as well. It provided a good distraction from all this bullshit. He would constantly make jokes that made me laugh and we talked about the most random things for hours. He also had me make latte art which took so much brain power that I could barely focus on anything else. So, it was nice that I would get to see him again. The problems of the world would go away for eight hours. Then I would get to lose my mind at a hyped up rap show. At least I imagine Jooheon’s shows were pretty hype. He looked like the kind of guy that would yell in your face. He also seemed very outgoing; like he was on stage all the time. So, I couldn’t imagine him standing on stage doing a soft rap rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Needless to say I was excited. Excited to get out of the house and spend time getting to know my new friends. And forming my own friend group for once in my life. 

I tied my hair up in the usual ponytail and brushed my teeth, making sure my smile was ready to greet the people who would walk through the door. My phone buzzed once I finished. I glanced over at my phone to see Minhyuk had texted me. We had exchanged numbers yesterday and it felt so good to finally be in close contact with someone that wasn’t my parents. 

_ just making sure ur awake lol good morning!!!!! Can’t wait to see you today!!!!!!!!! Tonight’s gonna be so lit!!!!!!!!!!!  _

It was 4 in the morning and this boy already had loads of energy to spare. I giggled softly to myself. I wonder how much he actually slept. Once I was done with my morning rout

**_I’m awake. See you in about thirty minutes. Can’t wait for tonight :D_ **

Then he replied with a bunch of whale emojis. That was something he did when he was rather excited and happy. I quickly learned that. It was rather endearing and I found myself smiling every time he did so. He certainly was charming and quirky. I can see why Jooheon was in love with him. Hell, I was in love with him just a few days ago! But quickly after finding out his relationship status, I moved on. It was no big deal and I still had his friendship.

But I can’t blame myself for getting a crush on him. In fact, I wondered why not everyone who had crossed his path had fallen at his feet. He was an angel. Minhyuk certainly made me believe in God more than any Mormons who came to my door preaching to me. His existence was pure and unadulterated fun. And I was grateful that he was in my life now.

I smiled at the thought while grabbing my keys quietly to not wake my parents. I put on my shoes and headed out to another day at my rather glorious job.

~~~

“Good morning Cora,” Carrie greeted as she was unlocking the door to the shop.

“Good morning Carrie.”

“How are you this morning? It’s a bit chilly,” She said as she held her jacket to her.

“I’m good. How are you?”

“Fine, thank you.” We both walked into the shop, my eyes having to adjust to the brightness of the lights once they turned on. “I’m going to have you make the muffins today. I’m thinking blueberry and banana nut what do you think?”

I nodded, “Sounds perfect.”

“Great! Minhyuk said he was caught up at the subway but he should be here shortly and he can teach you how to make our turnovers.”

“Oh yummy,” I moaned. I was hungry. 

“They are delicious! It’s a family recipe my mom created and I absolutely adore them. They are our Friday special,” she explained, “Minhyuk loves to make them so I always save that for him. He does a really good job.”

“He’s so good at everything,” I mumbled.

“Tell me about it.”

Our conversation ended at that, so I went to the back kitchen to make our muffins for today. It was a quick recipe with easy directions and I only had to make about 50 of them so I had them in the oven just as Minhyuk had come in with sweat dripping down his face. His breath was labored. 

“You alright?” I asked.

He held up a finger to singal to me that he needed a moment to breathe. I giggled at this poor unfortunate soul in front of me. Once he had finally caught enough of his breath to stand up straight he told me all about his eventful morning, “My subway card I guess ran out of cash but it still let me go for some reason? So I got stopped by a cop, obviously, for fare evasion. And it was pretty quick dealing with it but I was already late because Jooheon was super clingy to me this morning. He usually gets like that before a performance. It’s so cute, but he has definitely made me late a handful of times. I don’t know why he does it and he really doesn’t know either. I think it’s because he struggles with his confidence sometimes but I always reassure him that he’s perfect. Because he is. Anyway, I ran here from the subway station which is about three blocks from here. And I don’t really exercise much so that’s a lot on my small body.”

I just laughed. Minhyuk always had a way of making the simplest questions into the most difficult answers. “I’m glad you’re here now. Carrie said you’d teach me how to make turnovers.”

“Oh yes! It’s turnover Friday! Time to turn over a page and make some new turnovers!” Minhyuk sang to himself rather loudly as he wrapped a bandana around his head. That was a look I hadn’t seen before but he looked good.

“What?” I asked through my laughs. 

“I don’t know. I just think random things and they just come out of my mouth without thought. Jooheon said that’s inspired some of his lyrics.”

“I can’t believe you have a boyfriend  _ and _ he writes songs about you,” I said trying to sound fake jealous.

“Well, he doesn’t write them about me. But some things I’ve said have ended up in his songs.”

“I mean still… You’re an inspiration and that’s super adorable.”

Minhyuk blushed and spoke softly, “Yeah…” 

“Anyway the turnovers.”

“Oh yeah. So the dough is always made the night before because it takes so long. The evening shift people leave in the fridge over here,” He explained as he walked to the fridge and grabbed a couple of sheets of dough, “And today we’re doing strawberry and chocolate ones. They are our most popular so we need to make a lot! We also get to have one of our choices once we’re done… You know… to make sure they’re fine,” He said with a cute wink.

We both shared a laugh and then he took me through all the steps on how to make a perfect turnover. It was more complicated than I imagined but I wasn’t the one making them. In fact, I probably never would. Minhyuk said that he always made them because it was his favorite part of the job. He always had to work on Fridays because of it. I had already known him for less than a week and I definitely should’ve understood that his interests are quite strange. But even then, I still didn’t get my head wrapped around his randomness.

The muffins finished a little after he had put them in the oven. As soon as I set the pan down, he looked over my shoulder to analyze the contents. I definitely felt a little afraid that they weren’t perfect. I had only made them once yesterday but those turned out fine. 

“Those smell amazing and they look amazing,” He complimented as he put his head on my shoulder.

I giggled softly, “Thank you.”

“What flavors?”

“Blueberry and banana nut,” I answered, “My two favorite types of muffins. So I’m telling myself that I shouldn’t eat them.”

“Try one,” Minhyuk pressured.

“No. They’re for the customers. If there’s any left before break, I’ll get one.”

Minhyuk grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. His gaze was intense for no reason. I closed my eyes and giggled under the pressure he was giving me. “Listen Cora… We simply can’t give these out to customers without trying one. That would be a crime! What if we put these out and a customer has one and hates it? I couldn’t live with myself knowing that we delivered less than quality to the people who walked through those doors. You must try one.”

“No need to be so dramatic,” I joked, “I’ll eat one.”

We both grabbed a flavor and gave cheers with the muffins before taking a small bite as they were still hot from the oven. Our heads both nodded in agreement. It was quite frankly the best muffin I had ever eaten. And I made them myself. I flipped my hair over my shoulders in congratulations to myself. If anyone walked through the doors and hated these, then they had no taste. The blueberries were in there at just the right amount and they exploded in your mouth when you took a bite. It was sweet without being too sweet. It would be a perfect morning pick-me-up with a coffee. Minhyuk had taken a final bite of his muffin and patted his tummy.

“That waf really goof,” He said with his mouth still full of banana nut muffin.

“I’m glad you liked,” I smiled as I took the last bite of my own muffin. 

While we waited for the turnovers to finish baking, we set up the shop for the day. Minhyuk was making sure the closing shift did everything right. Every once and a while he would sigh dramatically to himself when something wasn’t up to his standards or they didn’t do something they were supposed to. 

“I can see why you and Jooheon are together. I didn’t really get it at first. But now I see it,” I spoke softly as he helped me take chairs down from the tables and onto the floor.

His face lit up at the mention of his boyfriend. “What do you mean?”

“You both are dramatic shits. You could be an actor as far as I’m concerned and Jooheon I know, probably has the most intense stage presence in the world s--”

“Oh he does. I can’t wait for you to see him tonight. He drives the crowds mad all the time. Especially the girls. It kind of makes me jealous but it helps pay our bills for sure. I always wonder why he hasn’t been signed yet because quite frankly, he’s one of the best rappers I’ve ever heard. He’s so unique and his style is unmatched… And I’m not saying that just because he is my boyfriend. You will be blown away by him. I know you will. Everyone usually is,” Minhyuk said, a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” His eyebrow perked up.

“You just seem upset at your boyfriend’s success. Are you jealous? ‘Cause I mean… You’re really good at what you do here. You guys are two different people and so there’s going to be differences in your success. And from what Carrie and I were talking about this morning, I can tell you that you are very successful here,” I explained.

“It’s not that. It’s just…” He paused to think about his words for once while he sat down the last chair. We walked back to the kitchen to check on the turnovers. They were one and he sat them down to cool. “It’s just… I’m scared he’ll forget about me. You know? He’ll get super big, he’ll get his posse and make loads of money and then he’ll leave me behind. Because while I’m good at what I do here, I feel like it won’t be good enough for him.”

“You have to be kidding,” I said in a shocked tone, “I’ve never seen two people more in love in my life! I’ve only met him once and I already know that he’s obnoxiously in love with you. I mean you’ve been together for five years, I’m sure if he wanted to replace you he would’ve done so by now.” I grabbed Minhyuk’s face, which was not so surprisingly soft like the rest of him, and made him look at me. “There’s no chance in hell he’d forget about you. It also helps that you live together. It’s impossible to forget someone when you live in close quarters together.”

Minhyuk gave me a small smile, “I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right. You have nothing to worry about I can assure you,” I put my hand on his shoulder.

He nodded, “Thanks. No one ever usually listens to me talk about my problems so thanks for listening.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Now please a chocolate turnover because it will change your life.”

~~~

They day went off without a hitch really. The morning was super busy but Minhyuk said that was usual for Friday mornings. I guess, people were so tired from the week they had that they needed something to push them through. Carrie actually had to help us out for a few hours because it was so crazy. But it was nothing we couldn’t handle. When I was too stressed, Minhyuk would crack a funny joke or greet a customer with a stupid pun which made me laugh. It lightened my mood for sure. 

Once we got over that hill, we were able to chill and Minhyuk told me the plan for tonight. After work, we would go get a bite to eat with Jooheon. Then we would hang together for a few hours while Jooheon did prep for his show. Then the show would happen at eight at a cool underground venue. Apparently it was really popular, so he was expecting a lot of people to show up. I hoped so for Jooheon’s case. Afterwards, we will hang out at a bar and then I will be driven home. After insisting that I could take a subway by myself I was fine, Minhyuk wouldn’t budge. Because he didn’t want anything happening to me. So I reluctantly agreed. 

It was going to be a busy night though, and I couldn't wait. It would certainly take my mind off the things that have been going in my life. Plus, I would get to spend it with my new friend. So it was perfect. It would be the perfect night. 

So once three o clock hit, I couldn’t help but jump out of my apron. Minhyuk had to wait for Penelope to get there which sucked. I wondered why Carrie hadn’t fired her when she was always so late. Something like that certainly didn’t go down at my other jobs. But whatever, I didn’t own the place. But I certainly wasn’t going to stay clocked in for no reason. So I clocked out and waited by the counter where Minhyuk was cleaning. 

“Is Jooheon picking us up?” 

“Yeah! He said he might be a little late. But it’s cool because obviously I can’t leave yet.”

“God, I’m so excited.”

“Me too!” 

And just like that Jooheon was summoned through the door, his black car, that looked rather expensive, was parked right out front. I guess he had to act like he was famous in order to get anywhere. Fake it til you make it right? His jacket was leather and his boots were fancy looking as well. The ripped skinny jeans added some flair and he was wearing a baggy t-shirt to bring it all together. And of course his necklaces and his dark earrings. His black hair was pushed back out of his face and into a quiff. He actually looked pretty sexy. 

And Minhyuk definitely thought the same thing as he breathlessly let out a, “Wow.”

“You like?” Jooheon asked twirling around to give us a full shot.

“Do I like it? You’re asking me if I like it? Honey…. You look sexy as shit.”

Jooheon gave a wide smile with his infamous dimples. Seriously how was this guy not signed? “Thanks baby. Now when do I get to kiss you? I haven’t seen you all day and I missed you. It was so lonely moping around the apartment all morning,” He pouted.

Minhyuk reached over the counter and grabbed his boyfriend’s face, pulling it as close as he could to him, and planted a kiss on his lips. They both blushed which made me shake my head in disbelief. Minhyuk really thought Jooheon would leave him. Once they were done, ogling over each other, Jooheon ordered his usual Americano. 

“I’m so nervous,” Jooheon spoke softly. 

“You’ll do great I promise,” I reassured him.

He gave his famous smile in my direction, “I hope I blow your socks off.”

“No doubt in my mind that you will Mr. Joohoney.”

“Joohoney one hunnit!” Minhyuk hyped up as he threw his boyfriend a rock n roll sign. 

Jooheon chuckled, “Thanks guys. And you look so cute baby.”

“Stoooooop,” Minhyuk said all shy. 

Once Minhyuk finished Jooheon’s drink, the girl who I remember seeing at my interview, walked through the door. Oh that must be Penelope. I remember when she seemed to criticize everything Minhyuk did. She must’ve been a blast to work with. 

“Hey Penelope!” Minhyuk greeted.

“You can leave now,” She replied, not even a second later. 

Minhyuk nodded and walked to the back to collect his things. After saying goodbye to our boss, we were out of there and about to have the night of our life. I got in the backseat of the car while Minhyuk sat in the front by his boyfriend. They looked at each other for a brief moment before Jooheon reached across to kiss his boyfriend’s face. 

Minhyuk giggled and tried to push him off gently. I looked down at my phone to give them some sense of privacy. A blush couldn’t help but form on my cheeks. There were kissing noises and so I turned my gaze to the window trying not to burst into laughs from the awkwardness. It was insanely cute. I wanted to kill them both for being so cute. Obviously, I wasn’t going to, but the cuteness was certainly overwhelming. 

“How was your day baby?” Jooheon asked as he started the car and began to drive.

“It was good. Really busy as usual. But Cora and I took it like a champ. We also sold out of muffins. They were really popular today for some reason. Cora made them and they were really good so I guess it’s not hard to understand why.”

Jooheon nodded and looked at me through the rearview mirror, “Good job.”

I smiled, “Thanks.”

“How about you? How was your day Honey?” Minhyuk asked, grabbing Jooheon’s hand that was on his lap. Jooheon brought it up to his lips and placed a kiss on his fingers. Minhyuk smiled awkwardly.

“You know how it always is when I have a show. I spent the entire day trying not to explode. I’m super nervous since this is the biggest show I’ve ever done. There’s a lot of people to impress,” Jooheon said as he glanced over at Minhyuk who was listening to him intently. 

“I know. But I know you’ll rock the house. I’ll be cheering you on no matter what.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“What do you want to eat?” Jooheon asked the both of us. 

“Noodles!” Minhyuk screamed like a little kid.

Jooheon and I both laughed. “Is that alright with you Cora?” He asked.

I nodded, “Yeah that’s fine.”

We ended up at Minhyuk’s favorite noodle place and sat down to eat our fill of food. Jooheon and I actually got to know each other a little bit more, in fact getting a little bit deeper especially in regards to spiritually and music. I learned that he grew up in the church and that’s how he got interested in music. We discussed our favorite artists and we both discovered that we pretty much love everything. I definitely had some new artists to check out when I got home. 

He was definitely charismatic like his boyfriend. But in a more mysterious way. Minhyuk was an open book, he wasn’t afraid to say anything that was on his mind. Plus, he was rather silly, so it was impossible to not be enthralled by him. Jooheon on the other hand, was an enigma. He owned any room he walked into. He seemed rather hard when you first looked at him. And I’m sure that got him to where he was now. But then he smiled and it was like you were looking at a different person. He was nurturing and caring for those around him. It was definitely confusing, but that just added to the mystery. You wanted to know more about him to understand. You wanted to dig into his mind. And certainly, it was a very interesting place.

Once we got our food, all of us could barely wait before digging in. It was certainly the most delicious thing in the world. After working a long and busy day, I definitely deserved to eat like a queen. Our table was filled with sides and by the time we were done, there was none left. We ate like royalty. Jooheon offered to pay which I thought was nice of him but I definitely insisted on paying my part. It was his night though, he told me, so he was going to treat us. I didn’t argue any further. Who didn’t like getting a free meal. 

While Jooheon paid, Minhyuk and I waited in the car. I could tell he was feeling something. 

“You okay?” I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze.

“Yeah. I’m just nervous.”

“About his performance?”

He nodded, “I just want the best for him of course, so it’s always hard for me before a show, to remain calm. I don’t know how it’s going to go. And if it’s bad what do I do then?”

“Has he had bad shows before?”

“No,” Minhyuk chuckled, “Of course not. He’s the god of rap! But being a small artist you just never know. You could have a streak of one hundred good shows and feel really good about yourself and then boom! The next show happens and you totally flop or like only two people show up and it’s your parents. Also he’s the breadwinner of our household, so if a show goes terribly, then we won’t have money to live on.”

“You just have to believe that the best will happen. Because I have no doubt in my mind that he will have the best show in his entire career.”

Jooheon hopped in the car at that moment and placed a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek, “Ready?”

He nodded and we drove to the venue. Before the show, Minhyuk and I took a walk around a park that was conveniently across the street. He opened up to me more about his anxieties which I felt honored to be a big help for him. We were only friends for a few days, and he was already opening up to me. I’m sure he did with a lot of people, but it felt good to be able to listen. We had a nice hug that lasted for a pretty long time. 

It felt so good to have a genuine connection with someone. I felt so safe to be in his arms. He rubbed my back lovingly which made me smile. It was a couple of minutes like this as a way to basically say thanks for being a friend. I was so glad to have him in my life.

“Well you ready to go?” I asked while I pulled away.

“Hell yeah! Let’s get liiiiiit!!” Minhyuk screamed as he hopped his way over to the venue. 

When we got to the other side of the park, we noticed the huge line. Well, this show would definitely bring some income. We took a spot in line and Minhyuk pulled out some cash for our tickets. I found it quite hilarious that he was essentially paying himself. It was quick getting inside, but we were squished together like sardines. Minhyuk got behind me as if to protect me from the possible impact I might get when the show started.

I looked over the crowd and saw a fairly mixed group of people. Although, there were definitely a lot of women. It was fun to look at groups of friends and see them fangirling over what was about to happen in front of them. I definitely understood. I’ll probably be fangirling after this is over. 

We stood there in anticipation for about an hour, when the lights finally turned off. The crowd went absolutely apeshit. An instrumental started with a spotlight pointing right at Jooheon who was crouched on the floor in the center of the stage. Oh yeah, this guy knew exactly what he was doing. This definitely wasn’t his first rodeo and he was about to blow everyone’s minds. 

Jooheon definitely blew my mind. His raps were aggressive and powerful. He was practically screaming at the crowd. The flows were all over the place but they fit so well together. Not to mention the powerful bass that came from a lot of the instrumentals. I wonder if he did it all himself. Either way he was fucking amazing. The crowd was definitely into it, in fact a lot of these people were fans because they were screaming along with him. It wasn’t very long before everyone was overheating from dancing and aggressively waving their hands. Minhyuk was behind me screaming and cheering super loudly. 

Needless to say, I had the time of my life. The world outside of this moment didn’t exist and I was in the happiest (and sweatiest) place I’ve ever been to. Once it was over, it was kind of disappointing. I already wanted to go back.

“What did you think?!” Minhyuk yelled over to me. Our eardrums had definitely been blown out.

I looked at him with the happiest expression in my life. “It was the best show I’ve ever seen! Holy shit! He’s incredible! I see why you fell in love with him!” 

He got all shy and sighed, “Yeah.”

While I definitely loved being in that room during the show, it felt incredible to step outside into the cool air the night offered us. I let out a sigh of relief. I was so sweaty. All of my clothes were wet and sticky. A shower was definitely called for once I got home. Minhyuk pulled me over to the back of the building where there was a door. 

“We have to wait outside because we don’t have passes.”

“That’s fine. I need to dry off anyway.”

Minhyuk burst into laughter and then got serious, “I’m really glad you had a good time. It means a lot that you came.”

“Of course! I love new music so.”

Just then, Jooheon’s face appeared from behind the door and Minhyuk jumped into his arms. Jooheon carried him while Minhyuk was smothering him with kisses on his still sweaty face. The famous smile broke out across Jooheon’s face. 

“You did amazing Honey I’m so proud of you!” 

“Thanks baby! You know your opinion means the most to me. I had the best time tonight and I saw you jamming out which made me feel so good.”

Minhyuk buried his face in Jooheon’s neck and held to him tightly, “I’m so, so, so proud of you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

Jooheon giggled, “Not possible.”

Minhyuk dropped from Jooheon’s arms and grabbed my arm, “Cora had a great time too.”

I nodded, “Yeah you have a new fan on your hands.”

Jooheon’s eyes squinted. “Thank you! I’m glad I won you over.”

“Did you make all those songs yourself? Like the instrumentals?” I asked.

“Yeah I did! It’s a long and hard process but I enjoy it. I’m glad you liked them.”

“The shit’s intense. I love it.”

“Thank you very much.” 

Minhyuk chimed in, “I need a drink, how about you all?” 

We all nodded in agreement and packed into Jooheon’s car to go to a bar. I only drank a little because I wanted to be semi aware when I got home. Minhyuk was drunk by the time he finished his first drink and Jooheon and I had to stop it before he got out of hand. He was a very talkative drunk, which was no different than normal. He went off on random topics and rants that had me and Jooheon in knots. He was also a clingy drunk, mostly to his boyfriend. Every few seconds he was gripping to his boyfriend and telling him he loved him. It was gross and I loved it. 

Once we determined that we had enough, Jooheon drove me home. I was fighting off sleep on the way there. It was about one in the morning so I had a long, long day. I couldn’t wait to get into my bed and crash. After the shower of course.

“Okay you can stop here,” I said as he got to my house.

“Oh this is a cute house!” Minhyuk exclaimed.

I giggled, “Yeah it is I love it. Anyway see you guys! Thanks for a great night!”

“Bye Cora. Thanks for coming to the show tonight. I’m hoping we can become good friends,” Jooheon said softly.

“Me too.”

I got out of the car and began walking up to my door when Minhyuk screamed really loudly from the car, “BYEEE CORA!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!” 

Jooheon’s laugh and shushes could be heard from where I was standing. I turned and waved back at them and finished my journey to my door. Once they drove off, I paused. 

That wasn’t…? 

Was that? 

I turned back around to see a black Mercedes parked out in front of the house. Oh no. My heart started exploding in my chest. My hand was shaking as I went to reach for the doorknob to my house. It was sweaty. The knots in my stomach grew tighter. My throat felt dry. I took a deep breath before placing my hand on the knob and turning it. 

I wasn’t even that drunk, but I felt like throwing up when I opened that door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

  
  
  


I dropped my purse on the floor when I saw that buff guy from a couple of days ago standing there in my dining room with the same lanky guy across the table from him. My dad was sitting in a chair looking so defeated. His eyes averted to me and widened in shock like I had broken into my own house. The two guys also faced me but they didn’t seem fazed by my presence. They had probably seen… and done much worse. So me interrupting whatever they were talking about was a walk in the park.

“Dad what’s this?” I asked, fear definitely present in my voice.

“Cora, just go upstairs,” he demanded, not moving from his spot. 

“No. Who are they?” 

“Listen to your father girly. Just go upstairs,” The broad guy said.

“I don’t have to listen to you,” I spat.

Him and his partner looked at each other for a brief moment and then burst into loud and obnoxious laughter. The guy with all the muscles slapped the table. I didn’t know I was such a comedian. Well Minhyuk made it out to seem like I was sometimes. But this guy was definitely not Minhyuk. He was in my house, invading my and my dad’s privacy. I certainly didn’t find any of it funny.

The guy with his big muscles turned back to look at me, “You’re right. You don’t have to listen to me. But I would seriously consider it if I were you.”

Was this guy seriously threatening me in my own house early in the morning? I was too tired to deal with this bullshit. But, my dad was clearly in trouble and I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing I left him with these guys. He was practically fresh meat to them. 

“Who are you guys?” 

The muscley guy smirked at me. I definitely didn’t feel comfortable in this situation. “Let’s just say… We’re businessmen.”

“Then why are you in my house at this hour?” 

“So full of questions aren’t we? We’ll be out of here soon if you just leave us alone to deal with this private matter yeah?” The muscle guy was clearly the spokesperson of whatever “business” they worked for. The lanky guy was insanely quiet, just watching his friend.

“Dad where’s mom?” I was suddenly aware that there was another person living in this house. Did she know these guys were here? 

“She’s sleeping. Now go upstairs and let me deal with this,” my dad was clearly exhausted from the sound of his voice. 

“I’m going to call t--”

Muscles interrupted me, “You’re not going to call anybody. You’re going to listen to your father and go upstairs. Nobody will get hurt if you just listen to our commands.”

I sat there and really considered his words. These guys had never been in my house before which means whatever pickle my dad was in, has definitely escalated. And I know at least one of them has a gun. Hell, he almost shot me! How did I know that what he was saying was true? Tears started falling from my eyes. I was terrified. The fear I was feeling was nothing I had ever felt before. I was sent into panic mode. My breath started to pick up and my body was shaking. I could feel my heart beating ten thousand times a second. 

I heard muscles sigh from the dining room. He snapped over at his partner and pointed at me. “Make sure you get her phone too.” 

I saw lanky walk over to me and I screamed with all my might. His hand went over my mouth as he picked me up. I cried harder as I was taken, against my will, up to my room and laid on my bed. 

“Stop crying you’re fine,” He scoffed. This guy's voice was deep as shit. Definitely didn’t match his lanky frame.

“Fuck you!” I yelled as I sat up. My legs felt numb. Probably from the fact that I was in the middle of a panic attack. 

“Where’s your phone?” The guy asked as he looked around me.

“I-In. In my purse.” 

The guy let out a sigh of relief, “Okay. Stay here and nothing will happen. You got it?”

“Who are you?” God dammit I just wanted answers.

“The less you know the better,” he said before walking out of my room. I wanted to punch his skinny face. Why couldn’t I get what I was looking for?

The silence was so uncomfortable. But I was able to regain my composure pretty quickly because of it. Who knows what was happening downstairs. I still wanted answers. My entire life has consisted of me being in the dark and I was tired of it. There were guys with guns in my house, probably threatening my father right now. That thought alone was enough to make me get out of bed and start walking down the stairs. I stopped in my usual snooping spot and felt my heart rate pick up again. I decided to stop. I leaned into the wall to listen. This would be my chance to get more answers. My hand was shaky as I tried to balance myself. I couldn’t fall down the stairs and risk my life.

I jumped when I heard hands slap down on the table. “Do you think this is a joke?!” That was muscles. Lanky guy had a deeper voice.

“Of course I don--”

“Then where the fuck is our money old man?!” 

“Like I’ve said a thousand times, money is kinda tight right now and I will get you your money as soon as possible,” my dad sounded so defeated. It broke my heart. 

Someone sighed pretty loudly. It was most likely muscles. “I don’t want that excuse. Just pay up man and we won’t bug you anymore.”

“I don’t have money!” My dad yelled. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears. I bit my lip to try and distract myself from crying myself. The knot in my throat made it almost impossible not to. A few tears fell from my eyes. I wiped them quickly with my hand.

“Alright,” muscles sounded like he was surrendering, “You left me no choice.”

No. No! He was not about to do what I think he was doing. I ran downstairs, practically tripping over my own two feet. I’m surprised I didn’t fall down. 

“No! I’ll give you the money! How much do you want?” 

“Cora!” My dad yelled as he shot up from his chair.

Muscles rolled his eyes and sighed. His hand went to his forehead and rubbed it. He was so cocky. I could tell. And I hated him. I had never been so disgusted by anyone in my life. I wanted to shoot him myself. My blood was boiling. 

“I don’t want your fucking money dear.” I swear to god if that man called me another pet name I would strangle him. 

“Then leave my dad alone!” 

Muscles threw his hands up in surrender. Thank god. I wanted to spit on his face. He turned to face my dad, “Alright. Fine. You win tonight, Patrick. But if I don’t have money in my hands by this time next week, I won’t be so nice. You of all people should know what I’m capable of. Let’s go, Sam.”

So the lanky guy had a name at least. And it was the stupidest name on the planet. Sam. Sam nodded at muscles and they made their way to the door. I held my breath for the door to close but muscles turned around. If he didn’t leave in the next few seconds, I was going to hurl myself across the room and grab his gun and shoot him. My hands balled up at my sides.

“Also, babe, you need to learn how to follow directions. It will be very useful in your future,” He gave me a smile.

I spit at him. This was disgusting. He was disgusting. He shook his head at me while chuckling to himself. I thought I would throw up in that moment. Muscles finally turned around and walked out. The door closed and I let out the breath I was holding. The air in the room was still tense though. I turned to my dad who had his eyes closed.

“Dad are you okay?” I asked, concerned about his mental health and physical wellbeing.

“I’m fine. Just go to bed Cora. Please.” 

My dad’s voice had never sounded so small as he pleaded with me. This man was getting ready to hit sixty and he was the strongest man I had ever known. He’d been through so much shit in his life, that he seemed so hardened to everything. Nothing ever really got to him. But whatever these people were putting him through was clearly breaking him. And that broke me. I had never seen him so vulnerable.

But I did what he said because he had been through enough drama for tonight. I didn’t need to make him more stressed. I grabbed my purse from the floor on my way back. I wanted to see if Minhyuk had sent any drunk texts. I needed something to cheer me up in this crazy time. Sadly, there were none. I sighed to myself and closed the door to my bedroom. 

Everything hurt. 

My legs had been aching from the concert, same with my arms. But the rest of my body had hurt from the pain of watching my father suffer. I wanted nothing but the best for him. Especially now. I don’t know the full story on who those guys were, but they were going to hurt him if I didn’t stop it. So I came up with a plan in my head. Maybe it was a terrible plan but it was a plan. Because I was tired of this bullshit ruining my family’s life. So tired that I just slid down my door and fell asleep right there on the floor.

~~~

“Before you were born, I had big dreams about running my own business. I went to school and everything, learning the ins and outs of what it took to run a business. Which is how your mom and I met, which you know that story already. Anyway, I wanted to sell technology because it fascinated me so much. Plus, it was on the rise with television being the main thing. I loved how we created something so spectacular and I wanted to share that love with the world. It would start with a store front, selling other people’s tech and I would move into production myself. Eventually starting a major company. I knew it would be difficult, but I had set my mind to it. It was important to me. 

“But I quickly learned just how difficult it would be to start a business from scratch. I waited a few years, working to save money to buy the store front. And of course, I had to buy inventory and scout around to companies who would let me sell their stuff. I had found a couple buddies who were willing to work for me as well. So when I hit thirty, I decided it was now or never for me. Either I do this or I don’t. But your mom was out of work because the bakery she was working at got shuttered. So I decided I would get a loan.

“I scoured everywhere trying to find someone who believed in me and my business. It was a long and hard process and I was so close to giving up. But this man, his name was Kyong, he listened to my dream and decided he would let me start my company. It was so exciting to me of course. All my time of hard work was going to pay off.

“But Kyong, from the moment I opened up shop, became very strange. He was very insistent on a lot of things from me. I won’t get into it but there was drugs and there was sex. And these things were coming through in my business. And when I fussed at him about it, because it wasn’t a part of our deal, he made threats to me. So I had two options: I could continue to run the shop and have the ability to pay the man back but have all this shit going on or I could close up shop and end it all. 

“I chose the latter because at that point you were on the way and I had a family now. I couldn’t bring you up into the world where I had to deal with these things. Plus, your mom was getting very concerned about me and I always listen to your mom. But, I would still have all this debt. And I knew that when I decided to close the doors to my dream. 

“And I had a reality check very quickly that these men would do anything to get their money. So I worked hard and long days to keep up with the demands that this man was giving me. I couldn’t risk my daughter growing up without a father and your mother doing this alone. I tried my best, I really did. 

“The best news of my life came when I turned on the news one morning to see that Kyong had died in a gun battle with police. I really thought that would be the end of his torture. Your mom and I celebrated for days because the debt would no longer be looming over our heads. We would be happy and I could relax. And when a couple months passed us by without anyone coming to me begging for money, I really thought I was out of the park. I had my first taste of freedom in over ten years.

“But one day while I was working at the technology store by our old place, these two guys in suits walked in. I had never seen them in my life. And they looked young too. Certainly younger than me. But I knew who they were. I didn’t need them asking me for money to know. 

“So I guess, Kyong’s son started to take over the mafia gang he had started, I don’t know his name and it’s been a long time. But he… He made a gang more violent. More aggressive. The guys that came after me had no problems using whatever force they needed. So I took poundings that I had never experienced. And the thing about the mafia, Cora, is that you never want to piss any of them off. So, I took those beatings like a champ. Because if I crossed a line, I was done for. And even though, certainly a lot of my life has miserable aspects, I still like living. I have a family that loves me and a roof over my head and food on the table. I can’t be any more grateful...

“Those guys that were here last night, Wonho and Sam, they have been after me for months. They’ve been asking me for more and more money for no reason. And as you know, I’m much, much older. I can’t work these long hours like I used to be able to. It’s taken its toll. But I have to pay them back or else I’m gone. It’s been tough, but I can handle it. I’ve dealt with this for as long as you’ve been alive and I can keep going.”

I sat there in silence. Completely in shock that my suspicions had been correct. All this time of guessing and wondering who these people were, it was all laid out in front of me. My father opened up to me and I appreciated that so much. It gave me a weird sense of completion. I didn’t have to guess anymore. 

Now, I had to put my energy into fighting. 

“You know I can help out. I have a job again so I can pay those bastards,” I said.

“No, Cora, this is my mess and I’m going to deal with it alright?”

“But dad…”

My dad shook his head, “No buts. I’m a strong man. I can deal with this.” 

“I just… How do you end up getting a loan from the mafia? How does that even work?” 

“They are master manipulators, Cora, they disguise themselves really well. A lot of the business they run, seem legitimate and then you get roped in and realize too late what is happening. Kyong’s gang… They were the biggest gang in this city, and I think his son is living up to that legacy. They have money and power and unfortunately I have to be a person who has to obey their commands.”

“What if we move? Like move away from the city. Go somewhere far away from here.”

He shook his head, “They always find you. And that only makes the situation worse. So, we’re staying put for now.”

“We have to call the cops then.”

“No we don’t. Because they hide their tracks well. And not to mention they’ve probably bought out the police force.”

I sighed. I had never felt more defeated in my life. There was really nothing that could be done on my part. My dad was a proud man, clearly set in his ways that he could deal with this himself. And I certainly couldn’t fight off these men. They were big and muscley. Especially that Wonho guy. I wondered how much he worked out to get those big ass muscles; how many people he’s carried and possibly thrown across rooms. And of course the guns. I decided I wasn’t going to cross them. 

But then I had a lightbulb moment. It was certainly still scary, but maybe less than beating up the dudes that had been bugging my dad. My dad had clearly never met their boss. Maybe he was too much of a coward to do all these dangerous things. He was probably also really old. Weren’t all mafia men wrinkly men who smoked cigars? Well except for the exception of Wonho and Sam. I feel like he couldn’t do nearly as much damage as those two. So I decided that maybe I could hunt this guy down and talk some sense into him. 

Sure, he definitely was dangerous. But I was tired of seeing my dad like this. I needed to do something to make this madness stop. He had been through hell and back and then back to hell again. This guy needed to stop or at least try to understand that my father is suffering. Surely he had seen his own father suffer. He got killed for christ’s sake. So maybe he could understand me. 

The more I thought about it, the more crazy I felt. This guy was a mafia leader for fuck’s sake. They had no hearts. He wouldn’t listen to me no matter how much I begged and cried for him to leave my father alone. In fact, he’d probably shut me up quicker than I could begin to speak to him. 

I laid in bed, Jooheon’s mixtape was playing loudly from my speaker, trying to find a plan. If only I could go back to last night before I came home. It was such a happy time with some friends. I wanted to lose my mind again in the best way possible. There was no way I would have to think about the world and how shitty it actually is... and how I was completely helpless to the situation. 

Tears fell from my eyes as I realized the severity of all of this. I felt like I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. It was safe there and I didn’t have to watch my parents get hurt constantly. I could forget all of this shit even existed. It would just be me and my own world. It sounded wonderful. I curled into a ball and let the tears fall freely from my eyes. My heart was completely broken. 

That thought must have summoned the gods of happiness because my phone started ringing from my bedside. I saw the whale emoji on the caller id and sat up from my spot. I wiped my tears and tried to hide my sniffles. I definitely didn’t want Minhyuk worrying about me. There was no way I could drag him into this hell. He definitely didn’t deserve it.

“What’s up?” I answered.

“Cora!!!” Minhyuk screamed into my ear. Ouch.

I chuckled sadly, “What Minhyuk?”

“Oh Jooheon was just wondering if you slept okay last night. I wonder too because you’re my friend so I worry about your health. But he seemed more concerned. I don’t why. But yeah. How are you? Sleep okay?” 

Of course I wasn’t fine. But I wasn’t about to tell him that. As far as sleep went. I probably slept three hours at most. I was totally exhausted. Everything just sucked. 

I put on a fake voice, “Yeah I’m fine. I slept great too.”

“You sound sick. Are you okay? Jooheon and I can come over and bring some soup if you want. We aren’t the best cooks but we can certainly try,” His voice was too intense for my liking. Why did he have to be so thoughtful and smart?

“I’m okay, Minhyuk, really,” I tried to argue. My voice was small. There was no way he’d believe me. 

“I don’t believe you,” He took his phone away from his mouth, “Hey Honey! Cora sounds sick! We should go over and try to make her day!” 

“No Minhyuk you don--”

“He says we’re coming over. It’s the least we can do for you Cora.” 

“Minhyuk…” I tried to fight. 

“Nope. There’s no fighting this. We’ll see you soon. Love you!!!!!!” 

And then he hung up. I groaned and ran my hands down my face. Minhyuk was such a good friend. Why did he have to be such a good friend? I just wanted to suffer in this alone. It was my problem in my world, and I wasn’t going to bring him into it. It wasn’t fair to him to get brought into my depressing and scary world. This was something I had to deal with myself. I turned over and groaned into my pillow. 

~~~

“Cora! You have friends here! I’m sending them up!” I heard my mom yell from the bottom of the stairs. 

I tried to think of a way I could escape. There were the windows but a two story drop was quite complicated. I definitely didn’t want to break my legs. I needed them in case Wonho and Sam tried to show their cocky faces in my house again. Especially Wonho. God, the thought of that bastard made my skin crawl. He definitely thought he was the greatest thing to happen to this planet. It was written all over his face. I should’ve punched him last night. 

Since I didn’t want to risk my body, I decided to just pull my blanket over my head. Surely then, they would think I’m sleeping and leave. I didn’t want to be rude, but I really didn’t want people in my life right now. 

“Cora!!!!!!!!!” It would be impossible not to wake up to the sound of that voice. And then a large body jumping on top of yours. It was impossible not to smile either. This definitely wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe I really needed this. 

I pulled the cover from the top of me and looked at Minhyuk splayed out across me. God he was so adorable. 

“Hey Cora,” Jooheon greeted in a quieter voice. He had a face mask under his chin. I should tell him I’m not actually sick. “Minhyuk said you sounded not too well. So I made some hangover soup and rice for you. It’s my father’s recipe so it should be fine. I’m not the best at cooking but I tried.” He placed a bag with containers in it on my bedside table.

“I’m not really sick,” I said honestly.

“Are you okay?” Minhyuk asked, pushing hair out of my face. These two were literally the most nurturing people I had ever met. I wondered if they wanted children.

“Not really. But I’ll be okay. I promise.”

“Well we’re here for you. We have no plans today so we can stay here as long as you need us. I have a whole stand-up routine if you would like me to deliver it,” Minhyuk said. 

Jooheon and I laughed at that. He was truly full of so much content constantly. I already felt a lot happier in his presence. And Jooheon definitely made me feel much safer. He was a broad man and sure he had cute dimples, but he could look intimidating if needed. They would definitely make great fathers. 

“Have you guys ever thought about having children?” I asked as I sat up. Maybe I was a little hungry. 

Minhyuk giggled, “That’s a random question. Where did that come from?” 

I shrugged as I looked in the bag. It smelled so delicious and it was still warm. Definitely time to dig in. They both eyed each other as I opened the container of soup and grabbed a spoon. It was definitely a spicy soup. But damn, it was delicious. Jooheon really said he couldn’t cook. And I’m the President of the United States. 

“Um… Well… Yeah. We want to one day. But we’re still young and we definitely can’t afford it now. But when… When we get married and feel stable enough. Why not?” I had never seen Minhyuk be so shy before. Where did that come from?

“ _ When _ you get married?” I pushed him slightly. 

“Well…” Minhyuk blushed and looked down at the floor. Oh my god he was so cute. “I mean… We’ve been together for five years. Of course, we’ve talked about a future together. We’re just waiting until we’re older. We want to be sure it’s the right choice.”

Jooheon walked over and sat by his boyfriend. His lips made contact with Minhyuk’s cheek. His hand came up to push hair out of his face. “You need to get your hair trimmed baby.” 

“Shhh. I’m having a moment.”

“You guys are so cute I want to vomit,” I said. I took a spoonful of rice and stuck it in my mouth. Jooheon laughed at me which caused Minhyuk to die as well. “I already feel so much better in your presence guys. Thanks.”

Minhyuk got his composure and looked at me, “Of course! You know you can always call me if you need anything. I’m sure Honey wouldn’t mind if you reached out to him as well. We’re your friends and we’re here to help!” 

“Yeah!” Jooheon piped in, “We’ve got your back.”

I nodded and went back to my food, complimenting the chef who made it. He humbled himself for sure. After finishing, I put the containers back in the bag for them to wash when they got home. My nose was runny from all the spice so I grabbed a tissue. It was silent. We just all looked at each other.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Minhyuk asked out of nowhere.

“About what?” I asked. I could play clueless.

“C’mon. What’s on your mind? I want to help you. I mean no pressure but I just… I want you to be okay. And talking about it can really help.” 

Suddenly, I realized that I was safe here. These guys would keep my secrets and deepest fears. There was no judgement. Maybe I could tell what was on my mind. Minhyuk, especially, could take the pressure off me. I didn’t have from him like I had been doing. He and his boyfriend would keep me protected. The fear of exposing myself lifted as I opened my mouth to tell them everything I could possibly know.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a few days :< I've been extremely lazy and I also had this puzzle I was working on and I got obsessed oops. I hate to only bring a short chapter but I'm hoping to have chapter 6 up as quickly as possible. I love you lovely readers (and Shownu). ENJOY! (also comments would be appreciated 🥺)

Chapter 5

  
  
  
  


When I finally got done telling Minhyuk and Jooheon everything that had been on my mind as of late, I didn’t even realize I was crying. That was until Minhyuk pulled me into the tightest hug I had ever received. That boy had strength and I don’t know where it came from in his tiny body. I felt the wetness on my cheeks and my nose was running. My body was trembling partially from fear and partially from my sobbing. Jooheon took his hand and pulled hair out of my face that was sticking to my mouth. I felt so comforted.

I wondered what I did to deserve such good people in my life. Because in my life, I was never given this type of friendship. One that allowed me this type of vulnerability. And I only knew Minhyuk for a few days. 

After what felt like an hour of crying into Minhyuk’s shoulder, I pulled away from him. I think I had run out of tears to cry. Jooheon grabbed a packer of tissues from his pocket and handed me one. I nodded my head at him and pitifully blew my nose. 

“Feel better?” Jooheon asked.

I slowly moved my head up and down, “A little.” 

“What are you going to do?” Minhyuk asked. It’s funny because I was asking myself the same question over and over.

I shrugged.

“Is there really anything she can do? This is the fucking mafia babe. Doing something would probably mean getting really injured or dead,” Jooheon warned.

“Yeah but… I mean her dad needs help,” Minhyuk said sadly.

“I’m not letting you get involved dear. I would absolutely lose my mind worrying about you. I mean I’m already worried about Cora.”

“I’m a grown man, Honey, I can take care of myself just fine.”

Jooheon sighed. His hands reached up to run his fingers through Minhyuk’s hair. Minhyuk closed his eyes and leaned into Jooheon’s touch. “You’re so stubborn and that’s why I love you. But I just want you to realize the dangers of this situation. This isn’t just some bank looking for money. It’s guys with guns and power.”

“Maybe Cora could try seducing the guy into backing off. I mean,” he turned to look at me, “You’re hot Cora. It’s definitely an option.”

Jooheon and I locked eyes and started laughing. Minhyuk’s brain was a crazy place. There was no way I was going to get in the pants of some man who was probably as old as my dad, if not older. The thought made me cringe.

“I’m not…. I won’t seduce a wrinkly, old man. No thanks,” I said rather seriously.

This made Jooheon double over in laughter. He gripped his stomach as he tried to not fall off my bed. Minhyuk giggled at his boyfriend’s joy. My lips turned into a smile. It felt good to finally have a light mood in this room. When they calmed down I got a little more serious.

“I mean… I did think that maybe I could talk to the boss guy. I mean mafia people don’t want to kill everyone in their path. Maybe he’ll listen to me. I mean I’m sure he won’t take into consideration anything I tell him, but… but maybe it’s worth a shot,” I explained.

Minhyuk looked surprised at me. Wasn’t his first idea fucking the man? What changed? “Absolutely not Cora. That man is the boss! Lord knows what he’s capable of. I mean you got handled by one of his men. He would probably have you snapped in half if you criticized his business moves.”

Jooheon chined in, “I’m with Minhyuk. He’d have you for dinner on a silver platter. There’s no way you’d last with that plan. And I just met you. I would like to get to know you at least a little better before you get snatched from me.”

“I doubt anything will happen,” I said, “I just… I think it could be worth a shot.”

The boyfriends looked at each other and sighed. They looked like disappointed parents. I know talking to mafia bosses is against the rules, but I had no other choice. I’m sorry  _ dads _ . 

“Okay. Here’s what we’ll do,” Minhyuk started, “We’ll take you to whoever this guy is. That way we can make sure you get out okay and call the cops if we need to. I’m not going to face guys with guns, but I am more than willing to be moral support.”

“ _ We _ ?” Jooheon wanted to clarify.

“Look Honey, she’s clearly dead set on this. The best we can do is offer our moral support yeah? I mean the chances of us getting hurt are slim if we don’t talk to anyone. Plus, I just wanna make sure she’s okay. I would worry if she decided to do this alone,” Minhyuk explained, “Plus, you’re the only one who can drive and has a car.”

“Do you even know where this guy is located? I mean you don’t even know his name,” Jooheon asked me.

I shook my head, “No. But I’m sure if I snooped around my dad’s office enough, I’d probably find something. I mean he’s done business with him for  _ years _ . He surely has to have an address somewhere.”

“Hmm good point!” Minhyuk said. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together, “Let’s go be spies!” 

My dad was out at work today as he was everything. He worked constantly, so it was no issue sneaking in there. He made sure it was a top secret place. I had never seen what it looked like in my entire life. The door was always locked when he was in it. And when he wasn’t, my mom and dad were always home to make sure I didn’t step inside. There definitely had to be something in there that would lead me to this guy’s son. 

“We have to make sure my mom doesn’t see,” I said.

“You’re not trusting my spy abilities huh.”

“No I am,” I defended.

“Then let’s go.”

I didn’t want to be concerned about the fact that Minhyuk seemed way too excited to be on board with this plan. But it felt good to have someone who would protect me in case things went haywire. Which was a strong possibility. But I almost got shot once already in the past week, and I survived. But, I didn’t want to think about what could go wrong. Instead I decided to think about what could go right. There wasn’t much, because it was the mafia, but… dammit I needed a little bit of hope. 

The three of us made our way quietly downstairs, as to not call attention to ourselves. I whispered to them where the office was. I was hoping my mom would be in the kitchen or in her bedroom taking a nap. It was that time of day. Sadly, she was in the living room watching cooking shows on tv. Because none of my plans ever go right. Luckily, Minhyuk had a plan. 

“Oh this is really nice. I love the decor in here,” he said as if he had seen the living room for the first time, “Oh hi Cora’s mom, Cora was just showing us around. Jooheon and I have been trying to get ideas for when we move into our own house.”

I thanked my lucky stars that Minhyuk’s mind was the way it was. He always had a plan and if that didn’t work out, his creativity took over to create another plan. And he was quick at it too. I wondered how much he got away with when he was a child. Probably loads of things. Plus, his cute puppy face made it impossible not to believe every word that was coming out of his mouth. 

“Oh Cora you should show them our bedroom,” she said before turning back to Minhyuk, “I love our decor in there. We had an interior designer come here and I hated everything she did except in our room. It’s perfectly designed.”

“Got it mom.”

Luckily their room was right next to dad’s office. Sometimes the universe really grants you a small gift. I led them down the hallway that led to the office. Minhyuk stood behind me, practically breathing down my neck. Jooheon watched me closely beside me. I tried to turn the doorknob but of course it had to be locked. I wonder what was so secretive behind that door. Minhyuk and Jooheon let out defeated sighs. They knew how I have been feeling this entire time. 

I reached above the door frame to see if he had hid a key over it. My hand swiped across the incredibly dusty frame until a key fell way too loudly to the floor. The three us, all too aware of my mother’s existence across the wall, stood there for a second. We stared at each other, breaths held, waiting for my mom to come across us. When nothing happened we giggled softly. 

I picked up the key and unlocked the door that led to the messiest office in existence. Well, this would be fun. Minhyuk closed the door and locked it behind him. There was uncertainty on where to start. Papers and folders were piled high on his desk. Filing cabinets and bookshelves filled the walls. 

“Okay, Cora,” Minhyuk started. He was truly the mastermind behind this operation. “You take your dad’s computer. Maybe there will be something useful. Honey, you look in the cabinets by the door and I’ll look at the ones by the desk.”

We all nodded and took our respective stations. My dad’s computer, of course, had a password on it. The man was so knowledgeable about technology that he had to have a difficult password. I tried the usual suspects; password, password123, 123456789, of course none of them worked. He clearly cared about his cyber security. Why couldn’t he be a dumb boomer like the other old people? Maybe he loves his daughter so much that he did something with me. I tried my name and my birthday. It didn’t work. Thanks dad. I tried my mom. Nothing. My mom and their anniversary date didn’t work either. I added symbols, capitals and everything. Nothing worked. 

I turned to Minhyuk who was shifting through folders that were conveniently labelled. At least he gave us one thing to work with. “My dad’s computer is locked.”

Minhyuk faced me, “Hmm. Well what’s important to your dad?”

“I mean I tried my name and things related to me. I tried with my mom too. The guy really only talks about how much he loves us.”

“Does he have hobbies?” Jooheon piped in.

“When he’s not working he’s sleeping. He also loves computers but I doubt the password is ‘computer,’” I said.

Minhyuk shrugged, “Worth a shot.”

I sighed as I typed it in and it gloriously worked. Okay so maybe my dad was dumb boomer after all. Either that or he was so intelligent that he picked something dumb to fool everyone. Either way Minhyuk’s laughter was making me feel incredibly inferior. 

Once I had logged on, I was greeted with a screen filled with so many icons for documents and other various things. I just needed an address or phone number god dammit. My eyes carefully examined each title of the various pages that were saved to the screen. Jooheon came behind me, telling me he found nothing. Damn. This wasn’t easy. Minhyuk was still filing through folders. Suddenly a document caught my eyes.

“YES!” I screamed as I clicked on it.

“You found something?” Minhyuk said, rushing to take a spot by his boyfriend. 

“I think so. This was titled ‘address.’ So maybe this will have something.”

We waited with baited breath as we watched a loading icon. Of course it was slow as shit because my dad’s computer was full of so many things. Suddenly, I felt very nervous. There was no way we should be here right now. My mom might find our absences very suspicious and start looking for us. My dad could walk through that door any moment and we’d be busted. I wonder why he wanted this place so hidden. But right now I didn’t care. I was here for one piece of important information. I didn’t care what else this place had to offer.

It had been five minutes and the document still hadn’t loaded. I sighed in frustration. Please hurry, I pleaded in my mind. My leg started bouncing in anticipation and my hands started to sweat. I was super close to calling it quits. We had to be suspicious now. 

That’s when the document loaded. It was full of names and various pieces of information. Sweet! This was the ticket to finding the guy who was terrorizing my father. 

“Is this it?” Minhyuk asked.

“I think so. The problem is that my father doesn’t know the name of the guy so maybe he won’t have an address.”

I scrolled through the long list of names. It was almost six pages full of these random names. I analyzed every single one. Most of these people I had never heard my father talk about before which means I had never met them either. My dad always brought his friends over, especially when I was young. I would think this would have some of their information. But this was a different list. 

No. I wasn’t going to look into it. I just needed one guy off this list. And there it was as clear as day. 

“Aha! Kyong’s son,” I said as I typed all the information in my phone. 

There were three different addresses and sadly no phone number. Damn there goes the easy chance. I was hoping I wouldn’t get threatened. Also, I wouldn’t have to waste Jooheon’s gas driving around. But oh well. Today was going to be a busy day.

“Did you find the guy?” Jooheon asked.

“Yeah. There’s like three different places written on this document so we’ll just knock them off until we find the place yeah?”

He nodded, “Alright. Are you still sure you want to do this?”

“Yeah. I’m really sure. I need to get this guy off my dad’s back. I’m tired of seeing him in pain and slowly killing himself,” I said. 

“Okay. If it’s what you want.”

Once I wrote down the last address. I quickly covered my tracks, logging off the computer and putting everything back to the same place it was when we entered. We got out of there as fast as we could. I made sure the door was locked and the key was in the same place we found it. Our feet lightened as we made our way to the living room. My mom was knocked out having a nap. Thank the fucking lord. 

I grabbed my purse with Jooheon pulling out his keys. Wait. I couldn’t leave without telling my mom. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a paper and wrote that we were going out and I’ll be back whenever. I place it on my mom’s lap. The three of us quickly left the house.

We were on the way to our first destination before Minhyuk and I could get our seatbelts on. Jooheon was driving like he was running from the cops. Which if anything I guess I should run to them. But, my dad did have a point. The mafia, when in control, takes hold of everything including the services meant to protect us from these people. And the way my dad was talking about this guy, he had to be the most powerful person in the world. Or at least the city. 

That realization made me all too aware of what I was doing. There was no way I would make it out alive. If I did end up alive, I’d probably not make it out. They would probably take me to the dungeon to serve my time for mafia crimes. Or I would be the humble servant for this leader guy. Lord knows what he would make me do. I shivered at the thought. 

But I wasn’t going to turn back. I needed to do this for my father. And if becoming this guy’s slave was what was going to do it. Then… I would. My family is the most important thing to me and I needed to do my part. 

Jooheon arrived at the first place that was a completely abandoned building. There were no cars to be seen for miles. The front door was completely off its hinges. The walls were covered in ivy and various graffitis. Windows were busted out. Wouldn’t be surprised if that was caused by gunshots. The place certainly didn’t look occupied. 

“I don’t think this is it,” Minhyuk said my thoughts out loud.

“I don’t either,” I agreed.

“Okay next place,” Jooheon requested as he got his gps ready.

“356 Oak St.”

Once he was loaded up, we headed off to the other side of town. Minhyuk decided to lighten our mood by playing music. The music was dancey and fun. It certainly took a load off. And of course he made me laugh by singing way too loudly. Jooheon tried to hide his smile as he listened to his boyfriend sing his heart out. Minhyuk and I came up with some fun car dances and we goofed around for the forty minutes it took to drive to the next place.

The fun started to die down as we realized we were getting close. Minhyuk turned the radio down so as to not draw attention to the car that had it’s bass going wild. We found ourselves talking in quieter tones. My heart started racing. 

This street looked just as abandoned as the last one. There were a few people scattered throughout. Some homeless looking people were walking the streets pushing carts and sitting outside chatting with others. The further we went down, the more abandoned it got. We stopped in front of the building that was from the document. It looked as disheveled as the last place. There was a guy sitting in front of it though. Although, he didn’t look like he was a part of the mafia. The guys that came to my house wore suits and expensive watches. This guy was wearing a dirty t-shirt and jeans. He stared into souls until approaching the car. Minhyuk rolled down his windows in a friendly gesture. Oh no.

“Can I help you?” The guy asked.

“Uh…” Minhyuk started before turning to us for help.

“I think we have the wrong address,” I said, nudging Jooheon as to say, ‘Hey! We need to  _ leave _ !’

He took the hint. Minhyuk said sorry to the guy as Jooheon drove to the end of the road. I gave him the last address. This, again, would be a long drive. I really hoped this was it. I didn’t want to be at the end of my rope yet. Now that we were getting close, I wanted to face this mafia boss. I wanted some excitement in life. I wanted to tell this guy to fuck off and so what if I ended up dead. Minhyuk turned up his music again and we were back to dancing. This certainly got me more pumped.

Once again, the closer we got, the quieter the music got, the softer our voices became. My heart started pounding out of my chest. My hands started sweating. I had a feeling that this place would be it. This could be the last time I see the light of day. I appreciated it a little bit more. We stopped in front of a building that had a bright neon sign that was lit that read GIRLS! XXX. 

Oh you have to be kidding me.

Jooheon looked at me, “Are you sure this might be it?”

I sighed, “I don’t know. But… mafias sometimes have storefronts and maybe this guy is perverted enough to make his storefront a strip club.” 

This further confirmed to me that maybe I wouldn’t get shot but live to become this old man’s sex slave. I closed my eyes and pictured my life up until now. I didn’t have to do this. My father was insistent that he was fine. But suddenly, his pained face flashed in my mind. I didn’t have to do this. But I wanted to. I had to help my dad. And this was the only way. 

“If I’m not back in an hour and a half, leave and go call the cops,” I told them. 

They both nodded.

A part of me hoped that this wasn’t the place and I could go home and pretend this never happened. But deep down I knew what was behind that door and I was terrified to face it. It’s the only way, I told myself. I opened the car door and took my last breath of city air.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops two chapters in one day enjoy :P

Chapter 6

  
  
  


My breath had definitely quickened when I stepped out of the car. My hands were now shaking and my heart was definitely going to pop out of my chest. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I definitely thought about turning back when I thought my legs might turn to jelly. But I didn’t. This was for my father. He needed help. And I was the only one willing to make the sacrifice for his well being. 

“I love you guys,” I said finally, turning back to look at my friends for the last time. At least I thought it could be. You never know when you’re faced with guys who have loads of power… and guns.

“I love you too,” Jooheon and Minhyuk said at the same time before giggling softly at each other.

They literally could not stop being cute even in a time of high stress and anxiety. This time I really thought I was going to vomit. But that could also be from the fact that my body was in the middle of a panic attack. And instead of fleeing from the danger and making it all go away, I’m closing the car door and walking toward the danger. Toward the big guy with a gun who could kill me and make me disappear in a snap. Or worse… make me make him come. I felt the vomit in my throat. I really didn’t want to fuck an old guy. Not today. Not ever. Death would be the more suitable option.

I didn’t even realize my feet had moved until I was up to the door of this strip club. I had lost feeling in my lower body once I had stepped out of the car. My hands were beginning to go numb as I reached for the handle on the door. I really felt like I was having a heart attack. I couldn’t breathe and I think my heart was actually going to go out. 

The door handle was really gross and dirty along with the door that probably hadn’t been cleaned nor fixed in years. It fit well for a run down strip club. There was also no security around. Which I guess it didn’t matter if you were the mafia. You are your own security when you’re in the mafia. The door basically flew open when I pulled the handle. I couldn’t feel any part of my body so I really didn’t know how hard I had pulled on it. I took as large a breath my body could handle and exhaled before stepping into the threshold. This could almost certainly mean I was walking into certain death. 

The place was empty. The stage was empty, with a spotlight shining on a singular pole in the middle of it. The couches were clean and empty as all hell. The only person in the room besides me was a guy behind the bar wiping off glasses. He looked kind of young from his side profile that was partially covered by fringe. He didn’t even look up at me before opening his mouth to me.

“We’re not open yet,” His voice was deep and raspy. I actually thought it was kinda…. Sexy.

“Uh…” I paused. 

I literally don’t know how to approach this conversation. Was this the guy I was looking for? Because quite frankly he looked younger than me. Or was this a guy working under the big boss? I didn’t know. But I didn’t know how to ask.

When he looked up, he looked more intimidating. His eyebrow was pierced along with his ears. And his hair was styled in such a way to expose most of his face. His shirt was intricately patterned. Like it had just come off a runway. He definitely had money. Although, He still looked rather babyish. But he definitely looked like he would work for (or even own) such a place. 

“Can I help you?” His voice was firm and annoyed. Fuck. I was really going to get shot.

“I uh… I’m…” Form. Sentences. Cora.

“I’m not hiring any dancers at the moment but if you want to leave a headshot I’ll definitely consider you.” Did this man just call me hot? What the fuck was actually happening to me right now?

“I’m… I’m not looking for a job.”

“Then why are you here? I don’t want druggies in my club so get out.”

“I--Wait what? I’m not high!” I defended myself.

“Then why are you standing there, for apparently no reason, looking at me like I’m an alien? I know I’m not what you expected. I’m sexier than a lot of club owners but god damn just tell me what you want?” He crossed his arms.

I walked over to the bar. His brown eyes were staring into mine. I couldn’t help but feel a little enticed by his serious face. He practically said he owned the place. But he definitely didn’t look old enough to run a gang of elite men. But he was my ticket to the guy who did. He bit his lip and smirked as I sat down in a stool. Ew. Was everyone involved in this group a creep?

“What do you want, princess?” He asked.

“Ew. First thing I want is for you to never call me that again,” I got down to business. I could take this man if he tried to pull something. He instantly backed down when I said those words. So he definitely didn’t run this gang. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“Changkyun,” he answered as he went back to wiping the glasses, “Why are you here?”

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Hmm. I’m gonna need a warrant or something if you want to talk to any of my girls.”

“No. I don’t mean dancers.”

“What’s your name?” Changkyun asked me. He stopped wiping his glasses again and faced me. I think he knew who I was here for.

I should use an alias. I didn’t need these freaks trying to find me after I left. That was what I was trying to get them  _ not _ to do. But my brain was empty because the only thoughts that could be processed were: we need to leave and panic! (also the thoughts that Changkyun was actually really hot but I definitely tried to ignore those as much as possible). So there was no way I could even think of a clever name without sounding like a complete buffoon. 

“Cora,” I answered, finally.

“Why are you here, Cora?” He put emphasis on my name.

I leaned into him. He smelled nice, like a nice woodsy smell that came straight from a forest or a log cabin. Okay wow this was not helping my mind stay on track for the mission. 

“Uh…” I whispered. I was weak. This man was killing me with his sexiness. Out of all the scenarios that I thought I would experience today, death by sex god was not even a thought for me. 

Changkyun licked his lip slowly and tried to hide his smile. He clearly knew that I found him attractive. “Yeah?”

Father. I’m here for my father. I couldn’t lose sight of my mission. This guy was hot but getting my dad out of this mess was a better deal. I cleared my mind of impure thoughts before clearing my own throat. 

“Do you know the son of Kyong?” I asked softly.

He looked at me suspiciously. His arms were now crossed at the front of his chest. I watched as he took a breath and looked at the ceiling. Changkyun had a nice neck. I wanted to bury my face in it and--MISSION! I reminded myself.

“Look, Cora, I don’t know what kind of business you’re a part of. But you need to leave,” He said finally.

“I’m not a part of any business I just… I need to talk to him.”

“How can I trust that you’re telling the truth? I can’t. You could be anyone. And I need to see a warrant if you want to go any further.”

“I’m not a cop!” 

“Prove it.”

“I...What? I need you to listen to me, Changkyun. I need to talk to this guy because I need to get him off my back. Please,” I pleaded, “I don’t care if he won’t listen to me. I need to try.”

Changkyun actually laughed at that. I knew this idea would be stupid. But god dammit just let me try. That’s all I wanted. I wouldn’t be able to rest until I got a firm yes or no. Or a firm handshake with death. 

“You do realize who you’re messing with right?”

I hesitated shortly. I mean of course I know that the mob is a dangerous organization full of dangerous people with dangerous weapons. But this guy specifically. He was the head of one of the biggest mob gangs in the city. Maybe even the world. He has loads of power and loads of money and loads of weapons, probably. There was no way I was any match for him. 

But I still nodded, “Yeah. Yeah I do.”

“Then tell me why you think talking to him and being reasonable with him is a good idea?” Changkyun’s face was close to mine. His eyes looked serious. 

“I uh…” God dammit he had me so flustered. I hate him for keeping off track of the important things in my life right now. “I uh… I just think… I just think it’s worth a shot. I know he probably won’t listen to me. But I want to try. I won’t give up until I try.”

He nodded, “Alright. You got yourself in this mess and you’re insistent. So I’ll take you back.”

Suddenly I was all too aware of my panic once he walked in the other direction. My panic came back as quickly as it got covered up by the desire for Changkyun. I was led down a large hallway which led to stairs. It was dark and spooky. I had to leave. My body dragged itself up the steps. I almost tripped over a few because my legs were nonexistent. 

The stairs led to another, shorter hallway that had a singular door at the end of it. I was surprised to see no members of this gang here. But then again it was Saturday. Maybe since they are “businessmen” like Wonho said, they took weekends off. But I also thought crime didn’t sleep. And the mafia is the biggest crime organization in the world. Whatever it didn’t matter. I had bigger issues to think about. 

Like what would greet me at the other side of that door. All the scenarios played out in my head so I could prepare myself for the worst. Everything from dying by being thrown out a window to sucking old wrinkly dick played out in my head. But I had a strong feeling I wouldn’t make it out alive. This guy was all powerful. But there was still time to turn back. I could do that. I kept telling myself to do that. But every time I did I would see my father’s tired face and that pushed me forward.

Chankyun’s fingers knocked on the door. I almost jumped at the sound as the hallway was really quiet. He listened in on the other side of the door before opening it slightly.

“Shownu?” Oh okay. Boss man finally had a name. “I have someone here who would like to have a word with you.” I couldn’t hear what the guy on the other side was saying but Changkyun answered, “No it’s not the cops. Nor is it the mayor. She just said she needed to speak with you….. I don’t know….. Okay,” He turned to face me, “You don’t have any weapons on you right?” 

I shook my head. I couldn’t speak from all my anxiety. If I opened my mouth I might actually vomit all over the hallway.

“She said no…… No!!...... Okay.” 

Changkyun turned back to face me and said, “Have fun.” Before walking off. 

My feet couldn’t move. The door was left ajar as an invitation for me to walk in but I couldn’t bear myself to do it. No matter how much I thought about my father and no matter how much I told myself to turn away, I was stuck in this spot. My eyes stared at the door and my brain had frozen trying to decide where I should run. My hands glued to my sides, shaking fiercely. I really thought I was going to pass out here. And I knew if I did that would be the last the world would see of me. 

I was about to take a step in the other direction, to get as far away from here. I could pretend this place existed. That none of this existed and that my father was okay. He survived this long with this madness. I’m sure he had enough willpower to go on. I didn’t have to risk my life for this. Of course I didn’t. What the hell was I thinking? This wasn’t just some guy. This guy had all the power and weapons in the world. I stood no chance. 

But then that door opened.

There was no turning back now. 

The man standing in front of me was tall. And he wasn’t old! In fact he looked to not be a day over 30 at the most. He wore the nicest suit I had ever seen but his shirt was unbuttoned slightly exposing a part of his very defined chest. His skin was so tan, he was practically golden. I looked at his face and I wished I hadn’t. His eyes were quite large, almost like a puppy, with defined eyebrows that were furrowed at me. You wouldn’t think that this man had a large body count. And by that I mean the amount of people he has probably killed… although… he probably has been around the block a few times. Because his lips were the most luscious pair of lips I had ever seen on anybody. Man and woman. It was like you ripped them off a doll. Who wouldn’t want to feel those on their skin?

I mean I didn’t. This man was after my father and quite frankly I hated him with all my guts. 

“Are you coming in or not?” He asked. His voice was deep but gentle. He was a walking contradiction to what I expected. 

I nodded because I still couldn’t speak. He turned back into his office and I nervously followed. What was I doing? He leaned at the edge of his desk and sighed at me as I entered his personal office. It was neat and tidy. A bookshelf behind his desk divided two large windows that looked out to the street below. There wasn’t much else except a couple of chairs and a computer. It looked so ordinary that I almost forgot he was the leader of a dangerous organization until, right there on the desk, I saw a gun. I was reminded of his power all over again. And how quickly I could get taken out of this world. 

“What do you want?” His voice was stern. 

I had to form sentences again. But my brain was absolutely fried. There was no way I could talk to this man. I couldn’t even walk just a minute ago. I wanted to throw up.

“I uh… Um… Shownu...sir,” I stuttered out. Why was I calling this man ‘sir’? He didn’t deserve to be given honorifics.

“No,” He stood straight up, “You don’t come into my space and call me something that I haven’t given you permission to call me.” 

Oh no I was really going to get shot because I called this man a wrong name. I prepared for the pain, clenching my fists at my sides. My legs felt they were going to give out if I moved anymore. But when it didn’t come I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“You call me Mr. Son, yeah? Now start over,” He said as he watched me.

“U-Uh… Mr. Son… sir,” fuck here we go again.

“What are you so nervous for?” He asked quizzically. There was a small smirk forming on his lips. Okay so he enjoyed this. Could I shoot him now? “I’m not going to hurt you. It’s not in my best business interests to hurt someone. Especially not a woman,” He mumbled looking down at his gun. 

“Uh…” I literally couldn’t form words. And I don’t know if it was because I was nervous about dying or… No it was definitely because I was nervous about dying.

“Use your words!”

Now I actually couldn’t speak because I had no words. And I was definitely getting on his nerves. The gun was still sitting there within his reach. If I kept going like this his ‘best business interests’ would probably go out the window. 

He sighed, “Are you here to waste my time? On this gorgeous Saturday? I could be doing better things right now but because you’re here I’m not doing any of it.”

“Um…”

His mouth sighed again. Mr. Son was definitely exasperated. “What’s your name?”

“C-Cora.” Finally we’re getting there.

“Okay, Cora, if you don’t tell me why you’re here in the next minute I’m taking things into my own hands. Now speak!”

Oh yeah the threatening allure of violence certainly motivated me enough. “I’m here to talk to you,” I spoke.

He nodded slowly, his defined eyebrow quirked up. My stomach was in butterflies. No. NO! 

“I’ve got that pretty clearly at this point. What do you need to talk about?” This man probably thought I was the stupidest person on earth. At least that’s what it sounded like in the tone of his voice. I wanted to smack him so bad.

“Your gang of guys have been terrorizing my father and quite frankly I’m tired of seeing him deal with it and I want you to stop. Sure, he owes you money, bu--”

“Who's your father?” He interrupted. 

“Uh… P-Patrick. Patrick Stacey.”

“Oooh. Wonho was telling me about you,” He started chuckling, as he moved behind his desk, “He said you were quite a feisty one.”

  
  


Wonho could suck my invisible dick for all I cared. What is it with these guys in ‘respecting women’ but then not doing it? Feisty? God I really could grab that weapon and end this all here. Mr. Son and Wonho and everyone else involved would go down. But those two would definitely get overkill.

“Shut the fuck up. Don’t call me that.”

His mouth formed into an o shape and he laughed again. “Wow. Okay. Whatever you say. Anway, continue on about your father.”

I stepped closer to the desk. I was feeling a bit more brave now that there was a large piece of wood sitting between us. The gun was still there but I didn’t care anymore. If I went down I went down. I would just make sure Minhyuk and Jooheon took revenge. Jooheon was aggressive enough. He could shoot this guy.

“My father has been terrorized enough both by your father and you! He’s old and he’s tired. I just ask that maybe you take it easy on him. He can give you your money but I don’t want this violence and I certainly don’t want to be manhandled by your men in my own fucking house,” I definitively said.

Mr. Son burst out into laughter again. His laugh was very dad-like. It would actually be very cute if it didn’t mean I wasn’t being taken seriously. And if this guy wasn’t a mafia leader. The gun was right there. I really could.

“You think this is a joke?” 

Suddenly, I felt very afraid again. No. This wasn’t a joke. And Mr. Son could wipe me off this earth in two seconds. 

“No… No of course I don’t.”

Mr. Son walked over in front of his desk again. I felt way too close to him. His hands gripped to the desk as he leaned against it again. He looked seriously at me but I couldn’t look back. There was no way I would last if I did. I stared out the window to the building next door.

“You think I would waste my guys’ time and energy on some petty old man who owed me money?” He chuckled again. “Of course not. I mean, of course I want my money, but there’s no point in terrorizing old people. Your father, Patrick, he deserves everything he’s getting.”

“Fuck you! My father has done nothing wrong in his life! And if you say that you don’t wanna waste your time on people like him, then stop! I’m tired of seeing my father constantly exhausted because he’s working to pay off your stupid father’s loan!” 

It felt really good to finally put my foot down and stand up for myself. Especially to a man who was all powerful. It made me feel good. That was until the all powerful man’s hand grabbed my face. Now the reality of death was back along with my panic. My eyes were face to face with his luscious lips. Something inside me lurched. I couldn’t face this so I looked up. His large brown eyes stared into my soul. It was like he was trying to suck it out of me. Maybe I wouldn’t mind it if he did. 

“Now you listen here, Cora,” he said sternly, “I don’t play games. And you clearly didn’t hear a word I said to you. I’m not after your father’s fucking money! Open your fucking ears. And if you call my dead father any name again I won’t hesitate to put a bullet through you. Are we clear?”

I nodded because my jaw was being squeezed shut by a large hand. The message was loud and clear. He removed his hand from my mouth and I let out a breath.

“Now leave,” He said as he walked to one of the windows. His back was facing me. 

Clearly, this conversation was over. I collected myself and walked as quickly as I could out of that place. I needed to get away from this place as fast as Jooheon could drive. There was no way I wasn’t involved in my dad’s money scandal now. That man knew my name and he definitely knew where I lived. If my dad made a wrong choice I was now involved in it too. I could be used for bait or something else insane. And that man stated loud and clear that he could put a bullet in my body at will. And that was terrifying. This was no longer my dad’s problem but mine too. 

But I had a bigger problem on my hands. Well, maybe not the problem of big guys beating me up or worse, but I definitely had a larger problem than with what I started with. Because as I hopped into the car, telling Jooheon (who was making out with Minhyuk) to hurry the fuck out of there, and my body started to relax, I was feeling something completely different than hatred. And I hated him for making me feel it. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while :< hope you enjoy! :D

Chapter 7

  
  
  


“Wait so he wasn’t old?” Minhyuk asked first thing after I told them everything, as the three of us were heading back to my home. 

Although I didn’t want to go back home. Not now and not ever again. I was scared that these guys were now after me. Or that my dad will find out from Mr. Son’s henchmen that I was interfering with his problem. I definitely didn’t want to be around when he raised hell with me after he told me he was more than capable of dealing with it. But in a way I’m glad I did what I did and now I felt brave. These men couldn’t hurt me. No matter how much they threatened me, I still felt powerful. I mean I just told Mr. Son off back there. And it felt good.

My mind played over so many scenarios in my head because there were so many things I wanted to say to him. I kinda wanted to test his patience. I really wanted to know if he would put a bullet through me like he threatened. Because a part of me actually doubted it. He claimed he didn’t want to hurt women and he looked so nonthreatening. He had the biggest eyes I had ever seen and the softest face ever. I genuinely wondered if that guy had actually killed anyone. The guy looked like he hadn't hurt a fly. 

“Yeah I was really shocked. The guy had to be thirty at the  _ most _ ,” I said, “And he looked so…. Not like a mob boss.”

“Was he hot? Did you try to seduce him?” Jooheon interrogated.

I couldn’t do anything but laugh. Those were questions that I didn’t want to answer. Mostly because I didn’t want to face the answers. That man was a jerk. Any attractiveness he had would have gone out the window when I remembered that he was after my father and killed god knows how many people. And I definitely didn’t try to seduce him. 

But he might have seduced me. 

“No and no,” I answered, “He was the ugliest person I had ever laid eyes on.”

“Did he threaten to kill you?” Jooheon continued to ask.

“Yeah. But only after I called his father stupid.”

“Oh so he’s temperamental,” Minhyuk pitched in, “Who loses it after someone calls their father stupid? It’s so dumb.”

I giggled, “Yeah. He’s brainless.”

“Do you think he’s after you?” Jooheon was definitely curious.

Was he after me? I guess only time would tell. If he ended up at my house again, then I definitely would think he was coming for me. But was I worried about it? Nope. I could care less about that motherfucker. 

“Nah.”

“Well that’s good. Sure, he won’t lay off your father but, hey you tried. And you didn’t die!!” Minhyuk said excitedly.

“Yeah,” I smiled, “But… I don’t know I’m nervous that this will make them somehow go harder on my dad. And I don’t know how I would live if that happened… knowing that it was my fault that he possibly gets killed. Also, what if he finds out that I was there? God he would  _ kill _ me.”

“I’m sure it’s going to be okay Cora,” Jooheon said as he looked at me through his rearview mirror, “Plus, we’re here for you. If he decides to snap. We’ll do everything in our power to take revenge. I’m sure I could take that guy with my bare hands.”

“Thanks guys.”

“You’re welcome,” The boyfriends both said at the same time before giggling cutely at each other.

They definitely didn’t know how to turn off the love part of their brain. Because while I was in the scariest situation of my life, they were in the car eating each other’s faces. I mean I didn’t care. They had to pass the time somehow. But damn, they really couldn’t stand to not be cute for at least five minutes. 

We sat in silence for the remainder of the car ride. I found myself staring out the window, trying to get rid of the remaining panic that lingered. I left that guy back at that strip club and I didn’t want to spend my mental energy thinking about him anymore. I got my answer. He clearly wasn’t going to lay off of my father as much as I wanted him too. So I just had to let it be. There was nothing else to be done at this point.

~~~

When I told myself there was nothing else to be done, it didn’t mean I couldn’t do research on Mr. Son and his father. I was definitely very curious on how this gang started and what it was like today. Of course there wasn’t a lot of information because the mafia is an underground organization. But there was a wikipedia page about Kyong and so of course I read it all, and looked at the references. 

This guy was an elite. He had practically controlled the entire city at the height of his mob career. Of course this led to a dark time for lots and lots of people, but when he died, the gang had split apart into different sections. That led to a lot of fighting and deaths among his members. I definitely wondered how it was doing, now that his son had taken over. How powerful exactly was Shownu? 

Because from what it sounded like, his father left his gang in shambles. And while yeah, this material is outdated, there was no way he built it up in such a quick time. Plus, he was young. The man probably couldn’t be taken seriously by anyone except the young guys on his team. Also, it meant he hadn’t been in control for long either. There was no way this guy was as scary as I thought he was. He could easily get crushed.

But it certainly wouldn’t be by me. I told myself there was no way I would get involved and now I was going to stick to that promise. 

But I still wanted to learn more. My laptop was almost dead and it was almost two in the morning. And here I was typing Shownu’s name into Google hoping I would get some leads onto who this guy was. I don’t know what was driving my curiosity but I didn’t really care. All I cared about was getting the juicy information on this guy and possibly why he wanted to terrorize my family.

Nothing really came up except some old wanted posts by the police department here. Apparently he’s wanted for theft, attempted murder, robbery, drug dealing, and… well literally everything else you could possibly think a crinimal was wanted for. 

And maybe I found myself staring way too long at the picture they used of him. His hair was neatly groomed. His face looked serious, though from my experience, he didn’t show a lot of emotion anyway. The mafia life must have made him hardened to any emotion. His lips…. Well they looked just as kiss--perf--Moving on. Other than a few of those, there was no more information on this guy. And maybe I was a little disappointed. His existence was practically well, nonexistent. 

Mr. Son had to be good at hiding too. Considering the police reports were made  _ years  _ ago, he’s been on the run for some time. And he had yet to be taken in. I wondered if that’s why he had three different addresses. He probably got close to getting caught and ran off to another location. I wondered how he decided on a strip club. Probably because he’s an obnoxious perv, I answered myself quickly. 

My laptop turned off because I had used up all of my battery. Oops. I glanced at my phone and saw it was close to two am now. Minhyuk had sent me a goodnight text about an hour ago and I smiled to myself. I adored him dearly. I texted him back a quick goodnight message and hooked my laptop to the charger. I needed to sleep and I knew that.

But my mind couldn’t shut off. Every time I closed my eyes I saw those large eyes peering into my own. The way it felt when his hand held my face rather hard which was a contradiction to the softness of his fingers. He smelled nice too. He had a scent of wood, almost like a fireplace. It felt warm and inviting. The complete opposite of who he was as a person. And I couldn’t help but think about his pillowy lips. They seemed so soft and meant to kiss--

I decided I had enough and closed my eyes and went to sleep, dreaming of the day this man would be locked away for good.

~~~

“You do realize how terrible that idea is Cora,” Minhyuk said as he took a sip from tea he had made me. 

Jooheon was away for a couple of days for shows that his friends were putting on and Minhyuk, with his separation anxiety, offered to let me stay at their apartment for a couple of days. I reluctantly agreed after he fake cried to me all day at work a couple of weeks ago. The tears had quickly dried up when I said alright. So I was on their couch, the tv playing Spongebob quietly in the background as I told him my plan to call the cops on Shownu.

Yes, I was still thinking about it even though I had made my promise not to weeks ago. But I couldn’t help. My dad had been coming home later than usual the past couple of weeks and his face had looked so defeated. And even a few bruises had shown up. My dad had quickly brushed it off saying it was nothing. He was alright. But my mom and I couldn’t help but sit on the couch most evenings talking about it. We both were out of ideas.

And a couple of nights I decided maybe I could put an end to his career once and for all. Sure, my dad had offered the option that he could’ve totally bought out the police force. But at this point I had run out of options. I needed to do something. And since talking to him had brought no luck, I had to create a plan B. And this was my plan B.

“Why is it a terrible idea? Like sure, he could control the police force, but… I’m out of options Minhyuk. I need to do something,” I explained.

“You did do something, Cora, you talked to him. That didn’t work and so now you should just do nothing. You did all you could so don’t beat yourself up trying to find another way of dealing with it. Plus, if he did own the entire police force what would stop him from finding you and doing something about it? And even if he didn’t… He still might try to find you and do disastrous things to you. And the thought of that terrifies me,” Minhyuk said sadly. His lip pursed in a pout.

I sighed, “Minhyuk…”

“I mean… it’s your life Cora. I can’t stop you from doing it. I just… I want to warn you of the things that could happen.”

“I’m not scared of him,” I said rather quickly. This was only a partial lie.

Minhyuk giggled before taking another sip of his tea, “Alright Cora.”

“You don’t believe me,” I said, playfully slapping his shoulder.

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I recall when you made us drive to his workplace, you were rushing us out of there just as fast as we came. Plus, you were shaking like a chihuahua who had just seen a ghost before you even saw him. I had never seen anyone so scared in my life,” he explained.

I playfully tackled him. We fell to the floor and I climbed on top of him. He squealed at me. “Listen here you little shit.”

He looked up at me and gave me a teasing smiled, “I’m listening.”

“Fuck you.”

“You know I love you Cora,” Minhyuk said more seriously.

I leaned down and laid my head on his chest. Because with all of this stress I had put on myself, Minhyuk had always made me feel good. Or at least a little better. His texts and encouraging conversations at work had always lifted my mood. I had never felt this loved by someone in my life. And I was grateful for him and Jooheon. My life was significantly better because of them. And I felt forever indebted to the higher power who brought me them. 

His arms wrapped around me and I listened to his heartbeat through his chest. I felt so warm and loved in this moment. We laid there together for an hour or so in silence. There was nothing that had to be said to each other. We took comfort in each other’s embrace. I relaxed fully for the first time in like a month. It was peaceful to be here in my friend’s arms.

After years of my life being uprooted and having to start over constantly. I found someone who cared for me truly. Constant texts and constant check ins to make sure I was okay. And it felt good to have someone to tell me that I’m an idiot when I needed to hear it, because I definitely needed to hear it sometimes. I never had a best friend before and now I did finally. And it felt amazing.

“If Shownu comes after me and kills me, would you take revenge?” I asked.

“You know it. I’ve never shot a gun before, but dammit I would learn for you. I would be like Keanu Reeves in John Wick,” Minhyuk giggled.

“You’re more like a puppy than me,” I said as I pulled away from his embrace. 

“I know… But I still want to protect you at all costs. Me and Honey both.”

“I appreciate it,” I mumbled softly.

“Of course.”

I looked out the big windows that their apartment offered (which made me a tad bit jealous) and saw the sun had actually set. I definitely felt a bit tired from the long work week I had plus the relaxing time with Minhyuk. I felt ready to rest. 

Minhyuk sat up and grabbed our empty tea cups and went to the kitchen to wash them. I stared out at the window for a bit. The city below was bustling. It was Friday so of course people were out to have a good time. I watched the people below wondering each and everyone of their stories. Why were they here? Who were they meeting? I got curious. Minhyuk turned off the sink and I turned to face him.

“Do you want a heavy or light blanket for sleeping?”

“I like heavy blankets.”

He nodded and walked into his bedroom. I turned back to watch the people below once again. I found myself in a trance for a brief moment before I saw a familiar head of hair. It was one that haunted my dreams ever since I was faced with him at my front door. Not to mention the muscles that could be picked out from any crowd. It was definitely Wonho. What was he doing here? He actually had a life outside of haunting people for a living? He was still wearing a nice ass suit so maybe he was still on the clock. I watched him closely as he walked over and greeted a guy I had never seen before. It had to be one of his buddies because he acted friendly with him. 

I was on the edge of my seat making sure I didn’t lose track of him. Him and his buddy shared a laugh before walking into the bar across the street from Minhyuk’s apartment. I wondered what they were laughing about. Maybe Wonho told his friend about his busy day of threatening people. Maybe even killing them. I scoffed and resisted the temptation to go down there and punch him in the face. 

Minhyuk came out of the bedroom with pillows and a blanket, which erased the temptation almost completely. Almost. I had told him I didn’t mind sleeping on the couch despite his insisting for me to sleep on their bed. There were many reasons why I didn’t want to, the main reason being it was their personal space, the other reasons… well, I didn’t want to sleep on a bed that had definitely been  _ slept _ on. But I didn’t tell him that. 

Minhyuk made the couch up all nice for me and I thanked him. He smiled at me. I looked back down on the street below to see if I could find Wonho again. But of course, he was probably down there having the time of his life. I hated him for it. I wanted to ruin his life in every way possible. I wanted to take all the joy out his life like he did to me. 

Why couldn’t these guys leave my mind?

“You okay?” Minhyuk asked, taking me out of my trance.

I turned back around to him and smiled, “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Okay. You can use our shower in the en suite if you want to shower. I don’t mind. Also, the kitchen is all up for grabs so if you want anything for like a midnight snack, you can totally eat anything in there. Mi casa is su casa,” Minhyuk giggled.

“Thanks Minhyuk.”

“Of course.” 

“I’m going to get ready for bed,” Minhyuk said, “I’m so tired from this week.”

“Same.”

He walked back into the bedroom and I was left alone in a quiet bedroom. The only thing filling the void was the muffled singing coming from the bathroom. I looked back down to the street to see Wonho again. He was still with his friend but they were surrounded by girls. Of course he would be flirting. I told myself this wasn’t my battle worth fighting anymore as I walked away from the window and sat on the couch. 

I told myself all these things, but that didn’t make the urge to beat his face go away. Before I was even thinking I had put my shoes on and I was on the elevator down to the first floor. I didn’t know what I was doing but the adrenaline was rushing through my body. This was definitely a terrible idea but I didn’t care. His smile was a disease and I wanted to wipe it off his face. 

I exited the building and made my way across the street where he was seen laughing with his group. His hands were holding a cigarette (maybe a joint? I couldn’t tell from this distance) to his mouth. My fists were balled up at my sides. The anger was threatening to escape at any moment. 

Wonho didn’t notice my presence until my fist made contact with his face. My knuckles definitely hurt but I didn’t let the pain show. The adrenaline was also making it less painful. The crowd around him had backed away and looked at me quizzically. Oh if they only knew. Wonho’s hand that wasn’t holding the joint, came to his cheek and he looked at me. I definitely made a stupid decision. But that didn’t stop me from going in for another punch. 

Well at least I tried to go in for another punch until his hand grabbed my wrist. His grip was strong, the veins on his hand were threatening to pop out of his skin. It hurt. It felt like my circulation was being cut off. 

“You really don’t want to do that again,” Wonho said sternly. 

“I do and I will,” I almost yelled as I used my free hand to land another punch on his other cheek. 

His grip moved from my wrist to my hair. It felt like he was going to pull it out. Okay I definitely made a mistake. He moved the joint from his hand to his mouth. He breathed in and then discarded it to the ground. I watched as he smashed it with his foot. His grip never left my hair. 

“You’re coming with me,” His voice was still stern.

“Fuck you. I’m no--”

“Listen here, bitch, I’ve tried to play nice with you. But you clearly keep budding into our lives and want trouble. So I’m gonna give you trouble,” He spat.

Wonho dragged me to an empty alley despite my protests and my fights. But his grip on me was too strong. If I fought hard enough, my hair would probably be yanked from my skull. And I didn’t want that. A sharp pain through my head as I was thrown against a wall. I was probably, no definitely, bleeding from the impact. 

“You think this is a game?!” He yelled. 

“No. But I’m tired of seeing you constantly.”

“Then stop thinking about me,” He laughed and put his body between me and any means of escape, “Or do you like having me in your dreams that much?”

“Fuck you!”

This guy laughed at everything I said. I was still trying to figure out how. “You want to.”

“In your dreams,” I said as his face inched closer to mine. 

He was getting way too close for comfort. I could feel his thigh push it’s way between my legs. My brain, which was trying to recover from an impact, took a few moments to process what was happening. When it finally did, I decided to spit in his face. It was the easiest thing to do when I felt frozen to this spot.

Wonho closed his eyes and wiped my saliva from his face. He took a deep breath to regain composure as he backed away slightly. I still had no mode of escape.

“What do you want from me?” I asked.

“What? You’re the one who came after me!” 

“I mean what do you want from my dad? Why are you after him? How do I make you go away forever?”

“Listen… Sho--Mr. Son, told me you had paid him a visit. You think he wouldn’t? And I’m sure he explained to you why. So I’m not answering any of your dumb questions,” He explained.

I backed away from the wall and went to land another punch his stupid face. These guys were getting on my last nerve. Again, his reflexes were fast and he had my arm in his hand. This time he twisted my arm around itself. He held it in that position. 

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” I cried out. I really thought he was going to break my arm. 

His face was close to mine again when he spoke to me, “Okay, since you’re hard at hearing, I’m going to tell you this one more time.” I winced in pain as he adjusted his grip. “We aren’t just after your dumb father’s money. Maybe you can ask him for the full story. But if I see your face in our territory ever again, or if I hear about your existence, I won’t hesitate to put a fucking bullet through your thick skull. We’ve played kind to you for way too long.”

Before I knew it I was being thrown to the ground. My head was throbbing with pain and my hair felt wet from blood. My shoulder was definitely going to be bruised tomorrow from that impact. 

“And in case you forget, maybe this will remind you,” Wonho said.

I cried out to stop whatever he was going to do to me. His foot made an impact to my stomach several times. Tears fell from my eyes as I tried to stop his assault. The pain, even with the adrenaline running through my body, was too much for me to bear. I gripped my stomach to try and stop the pain. There was one more kick to my skull before I watched him walk away, leaving my wrecked body to fend for itself. 

I laid there trying to find strength to get up. But my head was killing me. It was a pain I had never felt before. And I was certain he had broken a few of my ribs. My whole body was aching. And it just felt easier to close my eyes. I tried to fight the urge but then the world was dark and I couldn’t stop it.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

  
  
  
  


I woke up with intense pain. My head felt like it was going to explode any moment. The shooting pain was so strong that I couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to. My stomach pain had let up a little bit but I could definitely feel that it would be bruised in the morning. Well, after looking at my phone (which hurt my head to do so (which proved I definitely had a concussion)), it had definitely been morning. I was knocked out for a good few hours. 

But I was back in Minhyuk’s apartment which made me breathe a sigh of relief. He must’ve found me here and brought me back. Although, with his lanky body I wondered how he did so. It didn’t matter, though, because I was safe. Safe from Wonho and his attacks. My head hurt more thinking about it. 

“I don’t know what to do!” I heard Minhyuk cry from the kitchen. He was definitely crying.

“I found her like that!... I don’t know!... Honey please come home I’m scared,” I heard him start sobbing. 

I wanted to say something but my pain was so intense that I couldn’t do anything except breathe. But even that hurt a little. That could’ve been from the panic that I was feeling. I wondered if I was dying. 

“I cleaned up all the blood. She isn’t bleeding anymore but I just,” Minhyuk said between sobs, “Should I call 911?” He asked as he walked out of the kitchen and saw my waking body, “Oh she’s awake! Cora are you okay?! Can you hear me? God I’m so glad you’re okay. You had me so worried. Do you need a hospital? I cleaned up the blood from your wounds. It stopped flowing so you should be okay. I also put a wrap around your stomach to help reduce some swelling. Maybe you could use an ice pack. God, I’m just glad you’re awake.”

“My head hurts,” was all I could say.

“How bad? Give me a number.”

It definitely felt like a ten. I had never felt pain like this in my life. But I knew that would mean I would end up in a hospital. And that meant my parents would be contacted. And that meant I would have to tell them what happened. I didn’t want to deal with that scolding. And I definitely didn’t want to deal with that with this headache. 

So I lied, “6.”

“Do you want to go to the hospital? God, you had me so worried,” He put his phone back to his ear, “She’s okay I think Honey. I’m going to give her an ice pack for her head… Yes… Okay… I love you,” he said in a pout, “No please don’t hang up yet.”

I watched him as he walked into the kitchen, talking away to his boyfriend on the phone. I held my head in hopes to stop the throbbing pain. Of course, it didn’t go away despite my wishful thinking. 

Minhyuk sniffled as he walked back over to me and handed me a bag full of ice, “Put this on your head.”

“Sorry to worry you,” I mumbled.

“What happened?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But I have to know Cora. You don’t understand how terrifying this is. I need to call the police.”

I sighed. I definitely didn’t want the police involved. “If I tell you, will you promise not to call the cops?”

He breathed out and looked at me seriously. I had never seen him so serious in my life. It was actually kind of scary. His head bobbed up and down in a nod. I took a deep breath.

“I saw Wonho, from Mr. Son’s gang, across the street. And the--”

“Cora!” He yelled, interrupting my story, “I can’t believe you got involved! AGAIN! Are you not realizing how dangerous these men are? That guy could’ve killed you! A-and…” Tears started falling from his eyes, “I was so worried you had actually died. When I saw you on the ground I started panicking so bad. You have no idea how lucky you are.”

“I’m sorry Minhyuk,” I mumbled, “I know how bad these guys are now. I promise I won’t get involved anymore.”

“Pinky promise,” he said way too sternly as he held out his hand with an extended pinky finger. 

I reached out my hand and interlocked my pinky with his. I definitely decided to keep the promise this time. This pain was something I never wanted to feel again. And maybe I was dying so I probably wouldn’t feel it again anyway. I was dumb enough to get involved and I realized that now. Although I definitely realized that beforehand as well. I just wanted to experience some retribution for the things he’s done to my family. And it did feel good. At that time. Now… not so much. The regrets were plentiful. 

“Can I stay here for a couple more days?” I asked. I closed my eyes because my head hurt from the pain.

I definitely didn’t want to go home in my current state. If I showed any signs of injury, my mom and dad would be up in arms wondering where this stuff came from. And of course I wasn’t going to tell them I was getting involved in my dad’s affairs. And I definitely had zero brain power to lie to them. No matter what I told them, they would still get way too worried for my own comfort. So, it was just easier to hide until I got better. Or until I die. We’ll see.

“Of course! I will take care of you. And when Jooheon comes back, he will too. Although, he might give you a stern talking to you. But, we’re here for you Cora,” He answered and I felt him sit down next to me on the floor by the couch. My arm brushed against his hair. “I just don’t want you to get involved with these guys anymore. I don’t want to go to your funeral.”

Ha. The way I felt, he probably would end up at my funeral. I’m sorry Minhyuk. 

“I’m sorry,” I groaned out. 

“It’s okay,” he said as his hand brushed some of my, probably blood covered hair away from my face, “I understand why you did it. I just… I really hope you don’t do it again.”

“Trust me. With the pain I’m feeling, it’s enough of a reminder to never do that shit again.”

“I’ll go get you some medicine,” He quickly spoke.

“Thank you.”

~~~

I didn’t die which I considered to be a feat. There were definitely some moments, especially that first night, where I felt like my brain had turned to mush and my time was due any moment. But with the loving care of Minhyuk, I had definitely improved after that. Jooheon came home after the weekend was over, and gave me the dad talk of my life.

“I can’t believe you did this Cora! You had me worried sick! Do you know how hard it was to be hundreds of miles away and not being able to do anything?! I had never heard Minhyuk be more hysterical in my life! I love you too much to slap you but let me tell you I would,” He yelled at me just as soon as he walked into the door to the apartment. Of course, he had to give his boyfriend a kiss before doing any stern talking.

My head still was in a bit of pain and it was hard to handle hearing it. But I definitely deserved to get yelled at. 

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled as I turned my head to face him. I hadn’t left the couch all weekend.

Jooheon sighed, “It’s okay. I’m just glad you aren’t dead. Do you need anything?”

“I’m okay, Minhyuk took care of me,” I answered. 

Jooheon turned to Minhyuk and kissed his face all over. Minhyuk giggled. “You’re the best baby.”

“Stoppp,” Minhyuk laughed as Jooheon moved to kissing his neck. 

That didn’t stop Jooheon’s kissing attack on his boyfriend. Minhyuk wouldn’t stop giggling. It was gross but I was used to it at this point. I saw scenes like this almost daily when Jooheon came to pick up Minhyuk from work on most days. They were always so unbothered by the people around them and it was cute. But to the untrained eye, it was always nauseating to see such cuteness. To me though, I was just used to seeing them be the cutest people in the world. 

“I love you baby,” Jooheon said while cupping his boyfriend’s face.

“I love you too Honey,” Minhyuk replied as he smiled at him. His eyes were sparkling like there were galaxies in them. 

“Are you hungry?” Jooheon asked more loudly, but more to his boyfriend.

“Hell yeah,” I answered quickly.

“We could get chinese,” Minhyuk offered.

“Sounds good,” Jooheon agreed.

Minhyuk nodded and grabbed a menu that was hung on their fridge. His cellphone was already on his ear like he did this rather often. Jooheon walked over to me and brushed my hair to the side of my face, examining my head wounds. They still looked pretty bad, but they were definitely healing. 

“These look terrible,” Jooheon said matter of factly, “Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

“Because my parents would find out.”

“Who cares? You could’ve died! Don’t be so full of pride Cora.”

“But I didn’t,” I grinned.

“Cora…” Jooheon tsked, “I’m going to get some bandages.”

“No it’s fine.”

“No. You look nasty.”

“Gee thanks,” I said sarcastically.

“Cora what do you want?” Minhyuk asked for the kitchen.

“Chicken fried rice!” 

There was no reply and Jooheon was exiting the room to get some things to cover my wounds. It was painful to be taken care of, but I definitely appreciated it. As Jooheon said, sometimes I was too prideful. And my pride was telling me, this was all ridiculous. I didn’t need to be fed or have my own personal nurse. But I couldn’t stop these moms from doing so. 

Jooheon came out of his bedroom with a first aid kid that was probably bigger than my torso. I wondered where they kept that thing. I also realized that they would definitely be great fathers. He sat down next to my face and grabbed some wipes and wiped away some dried blood and disinfected my wounds. It stung. 

“I’m sorry. But it will make it better,” Jooheon said.

His tongue poked out of his mouth in concentration as he tried to make my wounds look less gross. I watched him as his hands dug through the large ass first aid kit to get some bandages. He stuck them to my head and gave a reassuring pat on my cheek.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome dear. Is there anything else that hurts?” He asked me. His gaze was powerful

“You can check my stomach bruise. I’ve been scared to look at it,” I admitted.

“Do you mind?”

I shook my head. 

Jooheon pulled up my shirt slighting that had a bandage wrapped around it. He removed it from my skin to reveal the ginormous purple bruise on my skin. I wanted to pass out at the sight. That was a great reminder to never get involved. I suddenly felt nauseated again.

“Holy shit,” he whispered while touching it which made me wince slightly. “How many times did he hit you?”

I shook my head, “So many times.”

“And you didn’t go to the hospital?!” 

“It doesn’t hurt that bad.” That was partially true. My head definitely felt worse that I was distracted from my stomach pain.

“God dammit Cora,” he said, “If this doesn’t get better in a couple more days. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“Jooheon…”

“No. No buts about this. You’re seriously injured. I’m giving you a couple of days because I know you’re too prideful and scared to go now. Take it or leave it Cora,” his arms crossed at his chest. When did these guys become my actual fathers?

“Food’s ordered!” Minhyuk yelled from the kitchen, “I got us a bunch of treats!”

“Thank you baby.”

“You’re welcome.”

After Jooheon finished scolding me, the food had come and we spent the evening together devouring the many items Minhyuk had ordered. We also talked and had a good time laughing together. It felt good to relax with my friends. And once the night came, Jooheon gave me a kiss on my forehead and wished me a good night. He was literally my second father. Minhyuk wished me a good night and for the first time since the weekend, I had a good night. I felt safe knowing that I had angels watching over me.

~~~

By the end of the week, I was back to work. My stomach was still bruised and my head wounds were still present but they were slowly disappearing. I would probably have scars on my head but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that I hadn’t died and I was on the mend. It didn’t hurt to exist either which meant my concussion had gone away as well. 

So needless to say I was back to being a functioning human. And my parents were expecting me to be home today and I felt I was presentable enough to make my face known. I didn’t look terrible and my wounds were easy to cover up. Plus, I didn’t want to be mooching off my friends any longer. 

So after work I bid Minhyuk and Jooheon a farewell. Although, I’d probably see them sometime this weekend. We hugged each other and I thanked them for housing me for the week. They, of course, said it was no problem (although I felt it was) and we parted our ways. I walked home with my bag over my shoulder. 

The minute I stepped through the threshold of my home, my mom gripped me in a hug. I definitely wasn’t prepared and neither was my tender body. I winced in pain but hugged her back. Luckily, she didn’t notice my pain.

“I’m glad you’re home! How was it at Minhyuk’s? You paid him for meals right? I want to make sure you weren’t just using him,” she said to me as she walked into the kitchen where she was preparing dinner.

“Yeah I did. I made sure he was taken care of,” I answered.

“Good. Did you have fun?”

“Yeah I did!” I put my purse on the ground by the door, “I’m going to put my clothes in the laundry.” They hadn’t been washed in a week. 

“Alright! Your dad said he’s on his way home so we’ll be having family dinner.”

That was a shock to me. I hadn’t seen my father come home before 9 pm for over a month. So this would be a nice treat for all of us. I’m sure my dad was excited to have some relaxing family time. So I hurriedly put my clothes on to wash and went upstairs to change into cleaner clothes. After I was done, I walked downstairs to my father walking through the door.

“Cora dear! So lovely to see you,” He greeted with open arms. 

“Hey dad. How are you?” I asked as I embraced him softly to prevent more pain.

“I’m good. I have the weekend off so we should do something fun.”

“I think you should rest,” I offered.

“Having fun is resting,” he said as he placed a kiss on my slightly wounded forehead, “What happened to your head?”

Luckily I had planned out my lies beforehand. And luckily they weren’t disastrous that there could be simple explanations. “Oh yeah I slipped in Minhyuk’s shower last night. I’m fine though trust me it wasn’t bad.”

He nodded, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

My dad walked away and went to greet my mom. I heard them giggling in the kitchen while I took a seat on the couch. Man I loved Minhyuk and Jooheon but it did feel good to be home. And my dad didn’t look as disastrous as he usually did. Maybe, just maybe, I had gotten through to Mr. Son and his dumbass cronies. 

And it really felt like it when my family were sitting together at the dinner table. I saw my dad smile for the first time in… well forever. And we were laughing and joking. It definitely relieved any worries about these guys. It was a cause for celebration. So after dinner I went to my room and put on a bopping playlist and danced around. Maybe all the pain I suffered was worth it.

I was sweating and out of breath from dancing around for some time. So I laid on my bed to catch my breath. The hard music playing through my speaker. I felt way too good. Like peace was finally here. Maybe we could all finally relax. 

Then there was a knock at my door.

“Yes!” I answered while turning down my music.

My mom peeked her head through the door, her voice was soft, almost timid, as she spoke to me, “Cora come downstairs now.”

“Um… okay?” 

I followed my mom down the stairs. And I was greeted with my father standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. His gaze was strong on my frame. He looked disappointed. And when I saw the second person standing in the room, I knew why he was looking at me in such a way. I didn’t believe in God but damn I was praying for him to take me now. I didn’t care if I burned in hell for eternity, I just wanted to be out of this room. Maybe Minhyuk would let me move in with him for the rest of my life.

The body turned around and I was met with those big brown eyes that I could never forget. I had dreamt about them way too much. They were staring into my soul the same way they had when I first met them. It was Shownu. His hands were buried in his pant pockets, an expensive watch peeking out from the top. 

“Hello Cora,” he greeted with a devilish grin.

What the fuck was happening? Why was he here? 

His gaze didn’t leave mine and I felt uncomfortable. I tried to think of ways of escaping. The front door was right behind me. I could. Maybe I would.

“How does he know your name?” My dad asked.

Mr. Son’s gaze didn’t leave mine as he spoke, “Mr. and Mrs. Stacey I’m going to ask you to leave us alone please.”

My father pitched in, “No I wanna know what this is about.”

Mr. Son quickly grabbed his gun from his holster and pointed it at him. My mother screamed and my father put his hands up in surrender, begging not to shoot. I was frozen in place. My injured head had to way of comprehending this mess that was unfolding way too quickly.

“I’m going to ask you again,” he said in a steady but stern voice, “Please. Leave.”

I watched as my father grabbed my mother and left the room. Shownu stopped them, “No. Get out of this house. I don’t need you interfering with this conversation.”

My father nodded as the two of them walked out into the kitchen and out the back door. I breathed a sigh of relief as he stuck the gun back in his holster. At least I wouldn’t get shot today. Well, hopefully I wouldn’t get shot today. At least by this man. My dad might have some bullets for me when Mr. Son leaves our premises. Because now my jig was up. My dad now knew I was involved. 

“Good evening Cora,” he spoke finally after a few moments of silence between us. 

“What do you want?” I asked almost immediately.

“I’m sorry? You could be a little more polite. Your father and mother have welcomed me into your beautiful home and this is how I get treated,” He ran his thumb over his bottom lip as he chuckled.

“I don’t have to be polite to you.” My fists were balled up by my side. I promised Minhyuk I wouldn’t do this kinda shit again but he was already testing my patience. Plus, he was in my personal space, it didn’t count right.

“You don’t have to,” He said looking over my shoulder, “But I don’t have to keep you alive either so…”

“What the fuck do you want,  _ Mr. Son. SIR _ ?” 

He smiled at me. A man like him was so unworthy of a smile that beautiful. And I hated it. I wanted to wipe it off his face.

“Wonho told me you had paid him a visit last Friday while he was off the clock,” He started.

“You guys actually have time off from threatening the city?” I chuckled, “It’s late. Shouldn’t you be ‘off the clock’?”

“Oh Cora, Cora, Cora, firstly, I’m always on the clock,” I wondered if he slept in his suits. “Secondly, you should know to never interrupt me.”

“This is my house. I can do whatever I want.”

He stepped closer to me. The fear was creeping up in my throat. A knot was forming there. My hands started to sweat. I tried to play it cool by glaring up at him. 

“Listen. I’ve had a long week and I’m not going to have the likes of you, pushing my buttons. Got it?”

“Yes.  _ Sir _ .”

“So,” he started over, “Wonho tells me you paid him a visit last Friday. And while he played nice with you--”

I couldn’t help but interrupt him, “Nice?  _ NICE _ ?! Ha. I thought I was going to die because of him.”

“What did I just fucking say?!” He yelled as his hand went to my hair. I was immediately complacent because I was reminded of last week. “One more time and I won’t hesitate to beat you worse than he ever could.”

I gulped and nodded as his hand loosened up. 

“I’m here to tell you to stop getting involved in your father’s business. We all have dealt with this issue kindly because you’re naive to these sorts of things. But you touched one of my men and I will not have it any more. If any of us, and I mean  _ any of us _ , see your face around again we will take all necessary actions to make sure we never see you again,” His face came close to mine. Those lips were painfully close to mine. The warmth of his body surrounded me. “Got it?”

I wanted to know what ‘necessary actions’ were. But then again, knowing how quickly he pulled his gun out on my innocent parents, I realized I didn’t want to know. I had been in enough pain. I felt like I had already met death and I wasn’t ready to meet her again. 

“Yes sir,” I said timidly.

“Good girl,” He said, backing away from me. 

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding. My stomach churning at the words he had just spoken to me. These guys disgusted me in so many ways. 

“I will let myself out,” he spoke.

My eyes didn’t leave Shownu as he slowly made his way out of my house. His eyes looked around the house, as if he was judging our decor. This man was the weirdest guy ever. His mouth turned into a smirk at me. I reminded myself of the repercussions of if I laid a finger on him. 

“Have a good evening, Cora,” He said before leaving my personal space.

I moved to the window to watch his black car drive away into the city night. My parents walked back in as if they were listening to our whole conversation. My father stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed around his chest. His face read an indecipherable emotion. But with the huff he released, I knew he was angry at me. And I was more scared of what would come next than anything Shownu could ever do to me. I let out a shy chuckle as his foot tapped against the wood floor. I was definitely going to get a gift of death tonight and it wasn’t from Shownu.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

  
  
  
  


The fear that had subsided when Shownu left my house quickly came back when my father spoke to me. His voice was calm but his demeanour was anything but, “Cora Penelope Stacey, what the fuck did you do?”

I had never heard my father use my full name before. I had always been a good kid growing up. I stayed in my lane and never crossed any lines. My parents had rules and I always followed them. Until now that is. And now I was going to face the consequences. Tears started to fall down my face because now the weight of the situation was becoming real. I had fucked up major time.

“I’m sorry dad,” I choked out, “I just… I just saw how terrible you were doing and I-I-I wanted to do something. I felt so helpless… I w-wanted to help you.”

I sat on a chair by the window and sobbed. My body shook from fear and many other emotions. But I mainly felt fear. Fear for my life. Fear that my father would hate me now. Fear for everything. My sobs became harder as I heard my father mumble something and storm out of the room. I felt so stupid for ever getting involved in this mess in the first place. 

My mom’s arms wrapped around me in comfort as her hand ran over my hair. She always had my back no matter what and it felt good to be in her embrace. I cried out all the emotions I had been holding in for the past month. All the secrets I had kept from them flowed out with my tears. I no longer had to pretend everything was okay. Because it wasn’t. I felt so stupid.

“I’m disappointed in you Cora,” My mom finally said.

I knew she was and I knew my dad was too. It broke my heart that I was so stupid enough to cause this. And I had brought Jooheon and Minhyuk into this as well. Who knew what would happen to them. I was going to beat myself up forever for doing this. 

“I’m sorry mom,” I sobbed.

She sighed, “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Well, for the most part. Who knew what these guys could do. As long as I didn’t show my face around their territory again, I should be okay. But even then there were still worries. I mean Mr. Son had appeared in my house uninvited. These guys could make up an excuse as to why they need to shoot me. And it was all my fault that I had to worry about this kind of thing now. 

I stood up from my spot and sighed. Maybe if I slept for the next century, I would wake up and this would all be okay. 

“I’m going to bed,” I mumbled.

“We aren’t done talking about this, Cora. Your father and I will talk to you tomorrow,” she said.

Maybe I could escape from this madness. Because I didn’t want to talk about this. I didn’t want to relive any of this bullshit anymore. So I went to my room and immediately texted Minhyuk asking him if I could stay just one more night. I explained to him my situation as best I could over text. I already felt I had faced enough consequences. The bruise on my stomach was proof of that. So I just wanted to escape for now. When I got the sure text, I had never moved faster in my life. 

I quickly repacked my bag with some more clothes than needed. Just in case. I made my bed to make it look like I was sleeping. Then, I made the climb out my window. I had never really sneaked out before but I had definitely planned it before. We’ve all been edgy teenagers. But this was the first time I was actually doing it. It was scary but I’ve done many things lately that have been scary. This was the most minor thing I’ve done lately. Although I’m sure my parents will kill me later. But I could deal with that then. 

There was a decoration on the side of my house that made it rather easy to climb out. Plus, it was out of view from my parent’s bedroom and it was relatively dark so I could escape without a trace. I threw my bag to the ground and carefully started my descent. Since it was dark out, it was rather hard to see so I was extra cautious. I didn’t need any more injuries. Once my feet hit the ground, I grabbed my bag and booked it towards my new safe haven. I would be protected without judgement there and I just couldn’t wait to relax. 

~~~

It took no time to reach the neighborhood in which the two boyfriend’s lived. Although, it was rather busy from people who were out drinking and having a good time. This was such a popular part of town that I genuinely wondered how Jooheon and Minhyuk afforded their apartment. It was small, but in this part of town, I couldn’t imagine just how much it cost. But, they lived happily so I didn’t ask any questions. 

I made my way slowly down the sidewalk, pushing through crowds to make my way to my final destination. The building was just up ahead so I felt rather elated. 

But then, time seemed to slow down. Because also up ahead I saw that familiar face. It was the face I had just seen not even two hours ago. I cursed the gods above for bringing such luck. Of course, he would be here. My eyes watched him carefully as I saw him look up and make eye contact with me. I looked back down and tried to catch my breath. I needed to slow my heart rate. Maybe tonight would be the night I would die. 

It felt like I was in a movie. Everyone around me was moving in slow motion. My head looked up to see Mr. Son approaching me. I tried to think of all the escapes. It felt like I had all the time in the world do so. My head looked around for every possible escape route. The building I needed to get to was so close yet it felt so far away. I could at least try to book it. He could catch me and if I did I would just explain that I wasn’t here for me. My friend lives here please let me go sir. 

I had started my escape away from Mr. Son, but my thoughts and plans were interrupted. In fact, everything was interrupted from car tires screeching down the street. Everyone’s attention turned toward the black car with blacked out windows as it sped down party alley. I watched as the window rolled down just enough for a gun barrel to stick out. Screams ringed out all around me as people realized what was happening. I was stunned in the spot as people crouched down beside me. Shots started ringing out, the bangs deafening my ears. I felt the panic rise in my body. My heart race was picking up and my hands started to sweat. I really thought I would die at this moment. When would this madness end?

My thoughts were interrupted as I was pulled to the ground by a large hand that almost felt like the hand of God. The panic suddenly overwhelmed my body as I actually realized what was happening. My body started shaking and I started hyperventilating. I wanted to escape this madness. But it seemed to follow me everywhere now and that thought only made the panic worse. 

I looked up to see Mr. Son above me. His hands were on his gun, shooting at the vehicle that was shooting at the crowds of people around me. Sweat was covering his forehead and his lip was in between his teeth in concentration as he tried to get his shot. The rampage seemed to last for hours but it was only a minute or so. Eventually, the vehicle stopped shooting and sped off into the night. 

Everyone was left on the ground panicking with ringing ears and lasting trauma. People around me were asking their loved ones if they were okay. There seemed to be no injuries but I couldn’t figure out if anyone was hurt because the same hand that saved me from a possible bullet to the head, was dragging me off into an unknown direction. My head was still spinning from the shooting that I couldn’t possibly comprehend anything going on. I was in the middle of a panic attack and tears were falling from my face. I needed a break. I just wanted to be with Minhyuk and Jooheon.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay, you’re okay,” Shownu whispered to me as he sat me down against a wall, “Take a deep breath. Can you hear me? It’s okay. I promise. You’re safe now, Cora.” 

I can’t believe this man was being kind to me. Because I’m pretty sure if that person didn’t try to shoot me (and others around me), he would’ve done it himself. Maybe he was about to anyway but he wanted to spare the already traumatized crowd. My chest felt tight and my body was going numb. My heart felt like it was going to stop at any moment. I sobbed.

“Cora you’re okay. I promise. Hey. Look at me,” he said gently.

I felt his soft hands on my cheeks as he forced me to look at him. Tears were clouding my vision so I couldn’t see anything. His hands moved hair that was sticking to my lips and sweaty face. 

“Did you get hurt?” He asked me softly.

I shook my head. There was no way I could speak. My breath was too labored and my voice had left long ago when I saw his face in the crowd.

“Cora, please breathe. Everything’s okay I promise. Talk to me.”

My body tried so hard to calm down. But I had been through too much, I think, in such a short amount of time that this was officially my breaking point. My head was swirling so much that it actually hurt. 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Shownu said calmly. His hand ran over my hair. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

I wiped my eyes and told myself I needed to breathe. And for once, Shownu’s presence was comforting to me. His hands were gentle. When I wiped my eyes and took a good look at his face, I saw it was softer than usual too. He actually looked genuinely concerned for me. I was honestly shocked to see such compassion from such a nasty man. But right now, I need anything I could get. It didn’t matter if this guy was the most wanted criminal in the world. He was crouched in front of me examining my head for any possible wounds. I slowly came back down from my panic attack.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” He asked.

“No I’m okay,” I mumbled. 

“Good,” he said as he examined my hands just in case I was lying, “You don’t seem to have any bruises or grazing wounds.”

I pulled my hand away from him, feeling like I had been touched by fire. The feeling lasted for a while and I stared at my hand. It felt so foreign. My heart was still racing but I don’t think it was from the shooting that took place. 

“Why are you doing this? You literally hate my guts,” I asked while staring into those puppy dog eyes. I wanted to be disgusted. But right now, I was putting it aside from the fact that this man possibly saved my life.

“What are you doing here?” He asked in a stern voice, changing the subject. His face going back to the colder version of itself. And here we go again.

“I… My friends live here. I wanted to see them,” I cried again. I wanted to be with them now more than ever.

“Hey it’s okay,” he soothingly told me. His hand reached up to wipe my tears. This man was all over the place and my already spinning head couldn’t handle it.

“I just want to be there. I ran away from home because I’m scared of my parents right now and I just…” I took a deep breath and cried harder. My panic was coming back again. “I’m sorry, Shownu. I won’t get involved ever again. I didn’t know you were here and I was going to leave you alone. I didn’t want to get involved with this and I shouldn’t have gotten involved. I shouldn’t have come here. I’m so sorry. I’m so scared. Please don’t hurt me. I’m so sorry. I won’t tell anyone I promise. Please… I’m so sorry.”

“Shh. I’m not going to hurt you,” he repeated, “It’s okay.” 

Before I could even protest my head was being pulled into his chest. And wow it was the most comfortable place I had been in. It was soft like a pillow from his sweater but his chest was rather toned from the workouts he definitely did. I could hear his heartbeat that was rather calm from the situation that just happened. Although for him, it was just another day at his never ending office job. I was sure he had definitely seen worse than this. His hand gently stroked my hair as he rocked me gently in his strong arms. I actually felt more at peace than I had in a long time. And the man who was causing all of this mess to make me this disheveled, was also the one making me feel better. I felt so confused. But I didn’t worry about it now.

His chest vibrated against my cheek as he asked, “Where do your friends live?”

I sniffled, “Uh… They live at the pinegrove apartment building.”

I definitely shouldn’t have told him that. Because now he had information about people close to me. But my brain couldn’t think in a time like this. I would beat myself up later. Right now, I just wanted to get to my safe haven. 

“Okay,” he grabbed my cheeks forcing me to look at him, “Come with me. I’ll take you there.”

My mind was telling me to say no. That this man could easily take you away. This was just his way of gaining your trust. He wanted to do the things that he said he would do if he saw your face again. But my gut said that this was safe. He was safe. So I nodded. 

His large hand interlocked with mine and swallowed my tiny hand whole. He groaned as he helped me off the ground. I grabbed my bag and flung it over my shoulder. I was then led to his car in which I had told him that we could just walk there. It was only down the block. He told me this was safer, that if anything happened, I would be more protected. This set off alarms in my head but I still wasn’t going to question it.

Shownu helped me inside the car, like I was a helpless baby. But I didn’t fight it. When he closed the door I took in my surroundings. This was a rich person’s car for sure. It had leather seats and fancy wood panelling. The inside was pristine, not a scratch or piece of garbage to be seen anywhere. It was like new. It was definitely not new though, because it smelled like him. That wood scent was familiar anywhere. 

Shownu climbed in next to me in the driver’s seat. His hand was on the gear as he started the car. It started up so smoothly. It was something I had never been used to since every car my parents had owned had been old and run down. And I definitely couldn’t afford a car on coffee shop money. So this was a foreign place for me to be in. 

He slowly backed out his parking spot. My eyes watched as his head turned in the opposite direction of me. His hair was tousled (probably from relaxing at a bar) but it still looked rather clean. His neck was covered by the turtleneck he was wearing and he he black earrings to match the fit. I thought he looked good. And maybe he was a bit captivating but I knew that was my panic brain talking. I wouldn’t feel like this when I calmed down fully. 

“What?” He asked with a smile as he saw me looking at him.

I quickly looked away from him and faced the front windshield. My cheeks started to heat up. I mumbled, “Nothing.”

He chuckled softly at me and I saw him shake his head out of the corner of my eye. 

As we drove around the block, we made our way to the street that Minhyuk and Jooheon’s apartment was on. Shownu slowed down and I looked down the street. Flashing lights were lined down the block. Police were questioning various people down the road as ambulances checked out any injuries that could have occurred. I looked at Shownu whose eyes widened at the sight. He knew if he went down that street, he would be done for. So he drove off.

“Hey!” I yelled. God I just wanted to go to my friends. Why was that so hard to ask?

“You know god damn why I couldn’t go down there,” He hissed to me. 

“Then drop me off! I’m not scared about getting hurt anymore.” 

Shownu stopped the car in the middle of the empty road we were on and made me look at him, “Look I know who was in that car alright? And I know he’s not scared of cops. He could make his presence known again and I’m not going to be responsible for your death.”

“Since when do you care about me?” I spat.

“That doesn’t matter now! What matters is that you’re still alive and I’m sure you’d like to keep it like that.” He was right but why did he care? This guy was threatening my life not long ago and now he’s worried about it. It made no sense.

“Yeah but why do you care? You wanted to kill me not even three hours ago.”

“Cora…” He sighed, “You have to understand how dangerous this shit is. Getting involved is the worst thing you can do for yourself.”

“But you don’t have to beat me up!” 

“Yes I do! Because your skull is so fucking thick that you don’t understand what a dangerous business this is! I have to do things like that to stop you from making these stupid mistakes! I’m doing this to protect you!” 

I huffed, “Yeah okay.”

He scoffed and shook his head, “God you’re so fucking difficult.”

Okay any hint of admiration I had for this man left the car in that moment. I wanted to punch him again. He pulled over to the side of the road and I finally replied to him, “Fuck you!  _ Mr. Son _ . I only got involved in your bullshit because you threatened my family!”

“When. Will. You fucking! Listen?!” Mr. Son took a deep breath to compose himself and he looked at me and spoke in a softer tone, “Look. I’m not going to ruin your life. Your father can do that himself. But you just have to understand that there’s a lot more going on that you don’t know about.”

“I don’t know what you have against my father? Why do you keep mentioning shit like this. He’s harmless! He’s a humble man who has done nothing wrong in his life! I just don’t understand.”

“Cora, I don’t harm people without good reason. And I don’t put my guys after people without good reason. Your father has given me good rea—“

“What is the reason?” I was here. I might as well get the answers I have been craving.

“I’m not going to tell you. It’s between me and your father. If he wants you to know, he will explain it to you.”

And that answer enraged me. This guy has gotten on my last nerve. So I did what I shouldn’t have done. It’s what I promised I wouldn’t do again. My hand slapped his face. And pretty hard too. The sound was loud in the small space of the car. 

Mr. Son held his cheek and looked at me in shock. But his face was still soft. At least he didn’t look enraged at me. He just sighed and turned back to the front windshield. This guy definitely wasn’t Wonho. If it was Wonho I would’ve been thrown out of here and run over probably. 

“You’ll never understand, Cora,” He said finally. His voice was soft. It was like I had genuinely hurt him.

“Can you  _ please _ just take me to my friends’ house?” I pleaded in a whisper.

“I told you I can’t do that.”

“Then can you let me go.”

His eyes looked into mine, “It’s too dangerous.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Cora….”

“Take me to my friend’s house or I’m walking there myself.”

“Don’t test me…”

When I realized that he wasn’t going to take me, I manually unlocked the door and exited Mr. Son’s car. I needed to be with my friends. I heard his car door open behind me. 

“Cora!” He yelled after me.

My feet just kept walking in the direction toward my destination. I was done with Mr. Son and his business. This was all bullshit. I was tired and I wanted to be in the safety of Minhyuk and Jooheon’s cozy apartment. I heard the sound of Mr. Son’s shoes clacking on the sidewalk behind me as he tried to catch up to me.

“Goddammit Cora,” He said as he kept pace with me.

I ignored him. Whatever I had started with him was now finished. It should’ve been finished last Friday when I got injured by his crony. In fact this should’ve never started. But it did. And now I was done with it. So I pretended his existence wasn’t there. 

I kept walking ignoring the madness that was going on around. Shownu stayed close to me through it all. Although, I did get a little concerned when he reached his hand to his side where his gun was located. But it wasn’t my business anymore. I was ignoring him.

Finally, I had reached the apartment building and saw Minhyuk and Jooheon in the lobby. Minhyuk’s phone was to his ear and he hung up with whoever he was calling when he saw me. I ran into his arms and embraced him as tight as I could. 

“Are you okay?! We heard the gunshots and tried to find you. We were so worried that you had gotten hurt,” Minhyuk said as he stroked my hair.

“I’m okay. I didn’t get hurt,” I mumbled against his chest.

“Good,” he held my face in his hands, “God we were so worried when we saw all the cops and ambulances. And when you didn’t answer our calls or texts we…” Minhyuk couldn’t say anything more. The pain was apparent on his face and that hurt me. 

Tears started falling from my eyes, “I’m sorry. I should’ve called you, I was just… I was so shocked and everything just… it all happened so quickly and my mind was swirling because of it and I just…. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay I understand,” he said to me reassuringly. 

Jooheon walked over and wiped a tear with his thumb before speaking, “All that matters is that you are okay. Come upstairs okay? I made some lavender tea. It can help to calm you down yeah?”

I nodded and wiped the remaining tears that fell from my eyes. It felt so good to finally feel completely safe. We walked to the elevator and I looked to see that Shownu was still watching me from the outside. He waved at me and I gave him a small wave back. And with a smile he walked off.

My mind was still spinning when I had sat down on the couch in Minhyuk and Jooheon’s apartment. Everything seemed to happen so quickly yet so slowly at the same time. I was still trying to process it all. 

But the one thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was Shownu’s kindness to me. He made sure I was safe. In fact, he didn’t worry about anyone else in the carnage down below. He only made sure I was okay. And despite his fears of the police, made sure I made it into my friends’ building before leaving me. It was strange. It made me feel strange. Because this was the same guy who said he would probably shoot me if he saw me again and had one of his guy’s beat me to a pulp. 

It didn’t sit right with me.

I didn’t know what he wanted from me. But he was trying to get something. And I decided it was best that I wouldn’t play his game any more. This shit ended down there and I swore to myself that if I saw his pretty little face again that I would take matters into my own hands. He wasn’t going to hurt me nor my father anymore. It was all over.

“Cora?” Jooheon called to me softly.

“Hmm,” I hummed as I broke my trance from looking out the window.

“Are you okay?” He asked. His eyes were full of concern.

“I’m better now,” I reassured. That definitely wasn’t a lie. I felt so safe here.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded, “Yeah I’m okay.”

And after a small conversation that didn’t really lead anywhere. I was led into my friends’ bedroom and sandwiched between them on their king size bed as we got ready to put the events of tonight behind us. After getting over the uncomfortableness of this new sleeping arrangement, I relaxed into the warmth and safety of my friend sandwich. There was nothing that could possibly hurt me now. The world outside no longer felt dangerous. So, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Tomorrow would be a new day and I hoped that everything would be okay. Finally.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

  
  
  
  


The sun was rising in the city and I had awoken as the light slowly filled the room. Jooheon and Minhyuk were snuggled against me in a peaceful sleep. Minhyuk had a cute little snore that made me smile. Jooheon was a cuddler and so his arms were wrapped around my stomach. Either that or he was protecting me from the unknown forces that seemed to work against me. His face looked so squishy. It was the complete opposite of how he tried to present himself to the world. I wanted to pinch his cheeks. 

I sat up from my spot which made Jooheon loosen his grip on me and turn over in his spot. My waking eyes looked around the room. The window seat on the side of me was covered in whale plushies. Minhyuk had set them up there the night before. He had told me every single name of each plushie. And there had to be like over twenty of them so I couldn’t remember. But it was cute. They were piled into a little pyramid, staring into my soul. The sun was starting to peek through the spaces of the buildings outside. It was blinding but it made me feel good.

Today was a new day. I wouldn’t worry about Mr. Son anymore. My dad’s problems were my dad’s problems. Not mine. And I will tell him that when I go home later. I still wasn’t ready to face my parents yet. Especially my dad. I had never seen him so angry at me in my life. And that broke my heart. 

I got up out of bed and went into their bathroom to take a shower. The water was warm enough to comfort me. Steam rose to clear my sinuses from morning congestion. My hands ran over my body slowly taking in all my curves and crevices as I lathered my body in soap. I let out a sigh. There was a brief moment that I imagined my hands weren’t my own. That they were the very hands that had held me last night. The soft hands that had touched my face. I couldn’t help but imagine how they would feel exploring my body. He was probably experienced in this department. There was no way he couldn’t be. 

But then I saw the image of him with a gun, his body towering over me as he shot at an unknown vehicle. And I realized that he could easily do that to me. I realized how easy it could be last Friday when I had my head kicked in. So I snapped back into my reality. 

I told myself that this was going to be a good day as I washed my hair. There was going to be no more thoughts of…. Him. I didn’t even want to think about his nasty existence anymore. So I told myself I would forget. It would take time, but I knew I could reach some sense of normalcy. As long as I never saw those men again, I wouldn’t have to worry about it.

“Cora do you want tea?!” Minhyuk yelled through the door, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes please!” I yelled back.

After quickly finishing my shower, I got dressed and my way out into the living room where Minhyuk and Jooheon were seen in the kitchen. Minhyuk was sitting on the counter in one of Jooheon’s shirts and boxers. His legs were swinging and he giggled at something Jooheon said. Jooheon’s hand came up to feed Minhyuk something. They laughed as Jooheon shoved his fingers in his boyfriend’s mouth. 

Minhyuk’s eyes laid on me and he pushed his boyfriend away. His face got more serious. Jooheon turned around and smiled at me. 

“Good morning Cora,” he greeted. 

“Morning guys.”

Minhyuk hopped down from the counter and came over to hug me. I embraced him gently. His arms felt nice around me. 

“Did you sleep okay?” He asked.

“Yeah I did. Thank you for letting me stay here,” I answered.

“Of course! You’re always welcome here. Jooheon and I don’t mind, do we Honey?”

“Nope!” I watched as Jooheon stood in between the threshold from the kitchen and living room, “We’re here for you always. Our home is also your home.”

Minhyuk looked down at me, “Yep!”

I smiled at them. It felt good to be welcome here. These guys, even though I have known them for such a short time, they have made me so insanely happy. I actually knew what real friendship was like. I had friends who cared about me and made me feel so safe. I told them everything and I didn’t feel weird doing so. I mean, I literally slept with them in their bed last night. It was such a nice thing to experience once in my life.

Minhyuk had walked off to take a shower and I walked into the kitchen where Jooheon was trying to make breakfast. I went to the fridge and poured me some juice they had in their fridge. 

“Thank you,” Jooheon said out of nowhere. 

I was a bit confused, “For what?”

He took a deep breath and turned to face me. I could see he was making something with rice. His cooking wasn’t the best, but rice was always good. Especially with egg. You couldn’t go wrong or mess that up. 

He exhaled, “Minhyuk… well… you know he’s a special person. But he’s always had a hard time making friends. Even though he seems to make friends with everyone, people always use his kindness. And you’ve been in his life for only a month, so I’m still cautious about you. But I can see that you guys genuinely care about each other. I… As his boyfriend, I want what’s best for him of course. So I just want to thank you for being his friend.”

I wanted to cry. I had figured out some things from his life from conversations we had but Minhyuk was such a happy go lucky person that he never dwelled on the bad things in his life. But this was something I could relate to very much. But unlike Minhyuk, I had shut myself off from the world. I couldn’t trust people that easily. Minhyuk and Jooheon made it easy though. They gave me the safest place to express myself and I was so grateful. So I wrapped my arms around Jooheon.

“Thanks Jooheon.”

“You’re welcome?”

I pulled away and grabbed my juice and walked out into the living room. The curtains were wide open, allowing the glorious sunlight to peek through. The room was bright because of it. I made my way toward the window and looked down. I had almost forgotten about last night. Probably because my brain wanted to repress such a traumatic event. But the cops and investigators that were looking through the carnage made the event play over in my mind. 

I could hear the screams and cries as clear as day. The gunshots that made my eardrums explode played over in my mind. The feeling of fear crept up in my throat. I have faced death way too many times this past month and I was tired. But I watched still, and let my mind live through the event over and over. 

My eyes trailed down the street and back but stopped on a particular car. I put my hand over my face and groaned. Could this all please just go away? What the fuck was Mr. Son doing here? Did he stay here all night? Wasn’t he afraid of cops not even twenty-four hours ago? Maybe I wouldn’t go home today. I needed to avoid him at all costs. My mind gave me the possibility that it wasn’t his car, but I knew it was. Because his arm was sticking out the window and that watch was way too familiar. And when I looked into the driver side mirror, I saw his face as clear as day. 

I backed away from the window, leaving all of this bullshit behind me. I had to think of a way to avoid him when I made my way back home. After breakfast, I decided I was calm enough and ready to face my parents. Minhyuk and Jooheon gave me some advice too which helped calm my spirits as well. As long as I told them that I was going to stay away from this mess from now on, they had no reason to really be angry at me. And that was true. I wasn’t going to touch things that were no longer mine. My dad could handle this perfectly fine on his own. He has done it for as long as I’ve been alive and he could keep doing so. I believed in him.

With my bag flung over my shoulder and big hugs from my friends, I was off. I told myself to keep my head down and maybe I could escape Mr. Son without a trace. Once I exited the building I started fiddling with my phone. It was the common way of avoiding conversations. There was no way I was going to show my face around that man anymore. He didn’t want me involved and so I wasn’t going to be anymore.

“Hey Cora!” Mr. Son called after me as I passed his car. Goddammit. 

Just ignore him Cora, I told myself as I continued walking down the street toward the subway stop. I heard his car start behind me. He really wasn’t about to follow me was he? I rolled my eyes and kept my mind occupied on my journey. I ignored him as he tried to get my attention. His car slowly followed beside me as I kept walking. I wanted to slap his face again for being the most confusing person in the world. First, he didn’t want to see me but now he was going out of his way. But it wasn’t going to matter to me.

“Cora! Hey!” He yelled, “Cora! Goddammit. Cora stop! Cora!” 

I wasn’t going to engage. The stop was still about another five blocks or so. But I didn’t care how long it took. A car behind him honked and I tried to not laugh. God he was so desperate. It was hilarious. What I didn’t expect was him pulling over and running to me. 

“Cora…” 

I had my final straw when he grabbed me and turned me to him. My hand landed on his face. This bastard had no right coming to me when he didn’t want to see me. I definitely considered stealing his gun to get a shot off at him. His hand almost instinctively landed on my cheek in retribution. And it really hurt. I would definitely have a hand mark on my face. I held my cheek and glared at him.

“What the fuck do you want?!” I asked.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hit you. It’s instinct for me. Look--”

“Go away!” I yelled as I turned on my heels and made my way to my destination

“Where are you going?” He asked as he walked beside me. 

“Why do you care?” He didn’t need to know how I was spending my Saturday. In fact, he didn’t need to know anything.

“Let me drive you.”

“No.”

“Look Cora, you almost got shot last night and it’s too dangerous to be walking by yourself. Just come with me. Okay? Please,” he begged. 

I decided I was done with this conversation. Mr. Son had no right worrying about me. He was the reason I was in this mess in the first place and now he was trying to make up for it. Either that or he had thought he had gained my trust. And because of that, he was going to take me somewhere and do the things he said he would if he saw my face again. But he didn’t. Now, I knew better than to do anything with this man. No matter how much he begged me.

“Cora!” He grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop.

I huffed, “What are you going to do if I don’t come with you? Shoot me? Go ahead! I don’t give a shit anymore! You wanted me to never show my face around you and I’m doing my best to do just that but you’re prodding into my life and I don’t appreciate it! Just leave me alone!”

His grip didn’t loosen around my arm as I tried to yank it away. In fact it seemed to grow tighter as I tried to fight it. This man was strong as shit even if he looked like a human version of a teddy bear. “Just come with me okay? I won’t hurt you.”

I sighed, “Please let me go.”

“No. It’s dangerous Cora I’m not going to have you walking out there alone.”

“I’ve done this my entire life. I’m not scared of anything. Plus, if anything, the shooting last night made me less afraid of going out. I’ve faced death in the face so many times. At this point I’m just waiting for it to take me. So just leave me the fuck alone. I can take care of myself,” I told him as I tried to once again yank my arm away from his grip. But it hurt. 

I watched his face as his brows furrowed at me. He was thinking about something, I could see the cog wheels turning in his head. And before I knew it, he was dragging me to his vehicle. 

“Get off me!” I screamed. 

His other hand went to my mouth which I tried to bite and lick to make him get off me. Mr. Son wasn’t budging now. This was something he had done many times before. He was an experienced bastard and I hated his guts. I tried to kick him and fight him as best as I could. His face looked annoyed as I tried to escape his madness. I wondered why he was putting up with me. 

My body was placed into his car and I decided to give up fighting. The familiar scent of firewood filled my senses. It was serene. And when he started the car, r&b music started playing softly from the stereo. I didn’t take him as a music person, let alone chill music such as this, but he was full of many surprises. 

“Where are you heading?” He asked as he looked over at me. 

“Home,” I answered, still trying to act like I didn’t want to be here.

Which I didn’t. Of course I didn’t. This guy told me last night that he wanted nothing to do with me. And I was only following the rules I was given. I had broken enough rules for my lifetime. I’ve experienced the consequences and I didn’t want to do it anymore. My brain and body couldn’t handle it anymore. 

But, and I didn’t want to admit it, a part of me also felt safe here. Maybe it was because it was the first place I had been in after a very traumatic experience. It was the illusion of safety. Because lord knows how many people have been killed in here, or run over out there. Or maybe he escorted many people to their death in here. And maybe I was next.

“I thought you were scared of your parents,” he said as he gave me a confused look. 

“I was last night. I almost died. And now I’m okay,” I answered him simply. 

His head moved in a small nod as he put the car and gear and drove to the direction of my house. It was silent drive, the only thing filling the space being the music on the radio. I watched as his thumbs drummed along to the beat. He hummed along to the lyrics quietly. His eyes were focused on the road. I couldn’t help but admire his golden skin that was practically glowing in the mid morning light. He had on the same turtleneck from last night which really made me wonder if he stayed in that spot overnight. Why? A grin came across his face as he noticed me staring. I forced myself to face toward the road ahead like nothing had happened. 

“So tell me about your friends,” he spoke finally.

“No. I know you’re only trying to get information out of me. I know your games, Mr. Son.  _ Sir _ . I’m not going to tell you shit,” I spat.

His brows furrowed and he looked at me like I was crazy for making such an accusation. A sigh left his mouth, “I’m just trying to have a conversation. But never mind I guess.”

“I hate you.”

“You should.”

“Then why are you making me become a part of your life? Especially since you have told me to not be a part of your life. Like I’m only trying to obey your orders.  _ Sir _ ,” I was enraged. 

“You’ll never understand.”

I was tired of hearing shit like this. The whole reason I got involved in this mess was because I wasn’t getting answers. All because I wouldn’t understand the scale of it all. That was too naive to comprehend it. But I have been through hell and back. I’ve been raised in this hell. I grew up quickly because of this garbage that this man brought to my family. Now I was here, and I was only getting the same exact answer as always. 

So I exploded at him, “Understand what?! I understand perfectly well that you’re a part of one of the most dangerous crime organizations in the world! I understand that you could take my life in an instant if you felt like it! I understand all this shit perfectly well! So why can’t you fucking tell me anything? I’ve lived my whole life in confusion over all the bullshit you have pulled and I’m tired.” 

I didn’t even notice I was crying until Shownu’s hand wiped tears from my cheek. God he frustrated me and confused to no end. And I was at my wit’s end. 

“Cora it’s okay.”

“No it’s not! My whole life is in shambles and it’s all your fault!” 

I watched as Mr. Son pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in park. My heart started racing as all the possibilities of what he would do played in my mind all because I talked back to him. I was scared. My hands started shaking and sweat started forming on my forehead. I screamed as he reached out to grab me. I swatted at his hands and I closed my eyes to the horror that would unfold.

“Cora, shhh. Hey,” His warm hands wrapped around my cold hands, “Cora. It’s okay. Please look at me.”

“Please don’t hurt me,” I pleaded.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” He whispered gently. 

I could feel his breath on my face. When my eyes opened I was met with his large eyes examining my face. His lips were too close to mine. I could practically feel his breath against my own lips. His hands skimmed over my face as I sniffled. A smile formed on his lips when our eyes met. I noticed his two large front teeth. It was rather adorable. 

I had to keep reminding myself that this man is dangerous. I repeated it over and over in my head to try to get through to myself. But the voice got quieter and quieter each time. I knew I shouldn’t have been here but he was so gentle with me. Despite all of his threats. I wanted to hate him so much and he told me I should but…. Right now I couldn’t.

“Okay I will tell you.”

I sat up, making his hands fall away from my face. I was at the edge of my seat. This better be good. 

Shownu took a deep breath. I could see he was debating on whether he should spill all this information on me. There was a long moment of silence. I focused on the song playing on the radio. Some guy was singing about a break up. Probably about break up sex at least that’s how it sounded. A blush came over my cheeks.

“Okay,” He started, “You’re in danger. I know you are. And before you think that this is your fault, I need to tell you it’s not. Nothing you’ve done has caused this. I’m not going to tell you what’s going on because then I will risk my life. But you need to understand that I have to protect you.”

I let out a small chuckle. Then it turned into full on laughter. Mostly because I couldn’t believe this. This had to be a joke. There was no way I could be in any danger. The only danger I had felt was from him. He’s the only enemy (with dangerous weapons) that I have ever made in my life. Unless Wonho was after me. That guy seemed to hate my guts. But Shownu was his boss so he couldn’t do anything unless Shownu told him to. My head was swirling.

“You’re kidding me. This is a joke right?”

“No, Cora.”

“Whose after me?”

“I can’t tell you. I just need to keep you safe I--”

I interrupted him, “You don’t give a shit about me. You’ve made that very clear to me. And that’s fine because I couldn’t care about you at all. There’s nothing you have to do. So you can take me home and this will be the last we see of each other okay?”

“Cora…”

“There’s nothing you could say that could change my mind. I’m fine and I’ve never felt like I’ve been in any danger. The only danger I’ve been in is because of you. So if you want to ‘protect me’ then you should just get out of my life. I don’t care if you have to talk to my father about his money issues or whatever. It’s his business and I’m aware of it now. I decided to stay out of your way from now on. But if you do anything disastrous I will find a gun and put a bullet through your head.” Wow. It felt good to give him a taste of his own medicine. “You wanted me out of this and now I am. So we’ll end it here yeah?”

Shownu’s hands gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. He was a very composed person. I learned that very quickly. I’m sure you had to be a composed person in this business. Especially with all the shit you have to see on a daily basis. And I read online that infighting is very common in mobs. So I’m sure he’s been shot at as well as breaking up gun fights and other physical fights. This was probably him trying to keep that perfect composure. 

“Alright,” He said finally before putting the car in gear and finishing our journey.

Once we made it to my house, he grabbed my arm to stop me from getting out right away. His hand felt like fire against my skin. My eyes stared at the area where our skin was making contact. My heart was starting to beat quicker again. 

“If you ever feel unsafe or like you’re in danger, please don’t hesitate to call me,” he said quietly, “I will make sure it gets dealt with.” 

His hand held out a small business card waiting for me to take it from him. I stared at it for a while considering all the options. If I was ever unsafe I would call Minhyuk and Jooheon first because they made me feel safest. I didn’t need this man who put me in danger in the first place. But I took it anyway. Why? I didn’t know. But I had the piece of cardstock in my hand when I left his car. I examined the plain card that had Son Hyunwoo written on it in fancy font. His number was typed below it. Suddenly I felt a jolt of excitement and I didn’t know why.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops it’s been a while. Oh well enjoy!! ^_^

Chapter 11

  
  
  
  


There was a moment of panic when I opened the front door to my house because I knew what I would get greeted with. And my superstitions were correct. Because in the middle of my living room, was my dad pacing back and forth with a frown on his face. My mom sat on the couch tapping her foot on the floor. Both of their heads turned toward the door when they saw me. I gave them an awkward smile as I walked through the threshold. Maybe I should just run back out. Minhyuk wouldn’t mind if I moved in with him I’m sure. Because with the look on the parents’ faces, I knew that I was going to get my head chewed off.

There was an awkward laugh that left my mouth. I knew I only brought this on myself. There was nothing I could do. But I certainly didn’t want to face the consequences of my dumb actions. Especially since I had never really stepped out of line before. I had never seen my parents so disappointed in me. 

“Where the fuck were you Cora?!” My dad yelled after a minute of awkward silence.

“I was at Minhyuk’s house I ne--”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” He asked.

“Because I figured you had enough of me for the night so I decided to just leave on my own. I’m an adult you know, I can leave on my own if I want,” I shot back.

“But you’re still under our roof, Cora,” my mother chimed in softly, “We deserve to know where you are.”

“And not to mention the shooting last night! You could’ve gotten caught up in that! You had me worried sick!”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Have a seat,” my father demanded. 

At least we had one rant out of the way. But now came for the main event. Considering my father asked me to have a seat, I knew this would take a while. And I knew there was probably going to be a lot of yelling and screaming. I was a little anxious as I took a seat in the chair next to our window; the same one I had cried in last night as I had disappointed my parents. I watched as my father put his hand on his chin. His eyebrows came together in thought as he tried to collect himself before exploding onto me. 

“I just… How could you be _so_ _stupid_?” Well at least he wasn’t yelling yet. 

I took a breath and started to speak, “I--”

“I mean… I had been honest with you and told you not to get involved and yet you go behind my back and get involved with the fucking mob,” he cursed. 

I couldn’t stand to face him at this moment. My head turned toward the floor and I moved my feet awkwardly. I don’t know how people deal with these situations. My brain was empty on what to respond with.

“Why Cora?” My mom asked.

“Because I saw how miserable dad was. I watched these men with fucking guns tear him to pieces and I scared they could escalate it more. So I thought maybe I could talk with their leader to see if they could la--”

“You thought you could talk to a fucking mafia boss?!” My dad started yelling. 

“Well I--”

“How stupid are you?!” Okay wow. That hurt. “These guys are notorious criminals and you thought you could just mosey on into this guy’s business and talk sense into him?! What was your logic?! Do you know that you could have gotten yourself killed?! And now this guy knows too much and could put you in harm's way!” My dad sighed as he started to pace around the room, “I just… I can’t believe you would do such a thing.”

My heart ached mostly from my dad questioning my intelligence. And it hurt to know that I had disappointed them so much. I definitely agreed that it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but the way Shownu talked to me, it seemed like he wouldn’t bother me anymore. So what was there to worry about?

“I’m fine dad, I promise,” I said. The first full sentence I had brought to this conversation.

He sighed before my mom spoke, “How do you know Cora?”

“Because I feel safe. Sh--Mr…. Mr. Son and I both mutually agreed that we wouldn’t get in each other’s way. So there’s no reason not to believe that I’m okay.”

“These guys lie all the fucking time Cora,” My father said.

“But I literally only talked to him. It’s not like--”

“It doesn’t matter! These guys don’t care if your the fucking president of the United States if you get in their way, they won’t hesitate to knock you down in whatever means possible.”

“But I’m not going to get in their way!” I stood up from my seat, “I’m fucking fine! And I’m not scared of those men!”

Of course that was a lie. They fucking terrified me but I wasn’t about to tell my father that for him to give me a ‘I told you so’ rant. And maybe I wasn’t as scared of them as I once was. Wonho terrified me the most that’s for sure. But Shownu… maybe not as much as I’m letting myself to believe. I glanced down at the business card I still had in my hand. I still wondered what he meant when he said I was in danger. And why he of all people had to be the one to protect me. 

“Are we done?” I asked.

“No we’re not Cora. I’m still trying to understand why you did such a thing.”

“Because I love my family and wanted to end this suffering you’ve been through. I was tired of seeing you miserable all the time.” I took a breath, “Look. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get into it. But I don’t think anything is going to happen. I’m fine. Now if you don’t mind I’m going to be in my room if you need me.”

I was over this conversation because this situation ended when I exited Shownu’s car. There was nothing else to say. So I grabbed my bag and walked up to my room to chill for the afternoon and decompress from the strange 24 hours I’ve had. 

~~~

I had started to flow into routine with work. Days were always the same. I came into work around four in the morning and made our pastries. Then, once we opened I would deal with the rush of people who needed their caffeine kick. After a couple hours of hell, it was chill with people flowing in occasionally. Minhyuk and I would goof off during those times. And then it was time to go home. Sure, my days were all repetitive and I certainly hated it but at least I was alive. And at least I had Minhyuk to get my through.

Plus, I didn’t have to deal with  _ him _ . In fact, I hadn’t heard from or seen him in weeks. So I really felt like I was in the clear. My parents still seemed disappointed in me but I knew they would get over it. There was no way they would hold this grudge for much longer. 

This particular day was pretty dead especially for a Friday so Minhyuk and I were making dumb games to get things done around the shop. The prizes ranged from not having to clean the bathrooms (luckily I didn’t) to winning your own small coffee made and paid for by the other one (and of course Minhyuk had to make the most complicated order in the history of all coffee orders). So needless to say, today was actually a pretty fun day. When it came time to clock out, I was a bit disappointed to leave. 

“Aye! Cora. Legend of Cora,” Jooheon greeted as Minhyuk and I walked out of the shop.

“Hey Joohoney,” I politely said back.

“Did Minhyuk tell you my good news?” He asked.

I eyed Minhyuk curiously before turning back to face Jooheon who had a cocky smile on his face. “No he didn't, what's up?”

“I’m releasing a mixtape officially!” His cocky smile turned into his soft dimpled smile.

“Minhyuk, how could you not say anything?!” I asked, slapping my friend’s shoulder.

Minhyuk grabbed his shoulder, “Ow! And I wanted Honey to be the one to tell you since it’s his big news.”

“The fact you managed not to explode with this news the entire day… That’s a new record!” I joked.

“Hush!” Minhyuk giggled which made his boyfriend burst into laughter. I definitely had a point.

“Anyway… Congratulations Jooheon. That’s wonderful news. I will be the first one to buy it,” I said confidently.

“No you aren’t,” Minhyuk interjected, “ _ I _ will be the first.”

I nodded slowly and smiles, “Alright. I’ll be the second.”

Jooheon laughed and proceeded to tell me about a celebration he was having tomorrow. Of course, I was invited. There was no doubt in my mind that I would go and support my friend. This was a big event that he’s been working for, for a really long time and I was excited for him. I put it in my mental calendar before saying goodbye. 

The walk home was spent being proud of my friend. I knew how hard he had worked to release some music. He’s been working on it longer than I had known him. His music always came from his heart and I knew that this album would be great. And I knew Minhyuk was more than proud of him. I was certainly bursting with pride. I couldn’t wait to celebrate tomorrow with him. I was practically skipping the more I walked. I was jumping out of my bones. 

As I walked through the door of my house, I let out a breath. I was a bit calmer but the excitement wouldn’t die down. My feet carried me into the kitchen where I made myself a celebratory pb&j sandwich. I was dancing around my kitchen humming a tune I was making up. I loved Fridays.

After I finished making my sandwich, I walked up to my room and turned on some music. My body carried itself around my room in dance as I munched on my sandwich. I just felt really good. 

As I finished my sandwich, I looked out my window to admire the cityscape below. It’s always been quiet in my neighborhood which is nice. It was a pretty neighborhood too. And trees were starting to bloom which meant we would be getting some color. It was always pretty to have the new flowers in the trees in contrast with the old architecture my neighborhood was known for. It was always such a great time of year.

While enjoying the scenery, I noticed something out of the ordinary. There, not too far behind my mom’s parking space, sat a car I had never seen before. It was a black car (like every god damn car I think I see anymore) with tinted windows. My heart rate picked up. I had never seen this car in my life. The logical side of my brain was saying maybe it was my neighbor’s new car. It certainly didn’t look occupied but I couldn’t tell. The other, fearful, part of my brain was telling me this was something else. And since I hadn’t dealt with it in a long time, I forgot how scary it all was. I felt my hands get sweaty. Who was that? What did they want from me?

My fear quickly subsided as I watched my neighbor walk out of his house and get in the passenger seat. My eyes followed the car for some time until it was out of sight. The sigh of relief that I gave was immense. I slowly backed away from the window and sat on my bed to collect myself. 

I then started focusing on that piece of cardstock that I had left on my nightstand. I kept telling myself I would throw it away, but I just kept forgetting about it. But now that I had been faced with that fear again, I couldn’t help but grab it and analyze it. 

It was a sophisticated card; perfect for a sophisticated man. My fingers ran over the glossy letters that spelled:  _ Son Hyunwoo Business Enterprises _ . I chortled. Yeah right. And right below it was his number and email. And sure, I told myself and my parents  _ and _ my friends I wouldn’t get involved anymore. But my curiosity got the best of me. I just wanted to know what would happen if I did actually call him. He didn’t have to know it was me. It’s not like he had my number.

My fingers nervously typed in the number. I kept telling myself that it was a bad idea but the more curious side got the best of me. I put my phone to my ear as I heard ringing. It only took a few rings before the phone picked.

“Hello?” That soothing voice answered.

My heart skipped a beat. It shouldn’t have. But it did. It had been a while ( way too long ) since I heard that voice. I didn’t know what to say or how to respond. So I sat there for a few moments.

“Hello?” 

Maybe I could put on a vocal disguise. Or maybe I could hang up and throw the card away like I told myself I would. Why was I keeping this anyway? I wasn’t afraid of anyone that could hurt me.

“I’m gonna hang up now.”

“U-Uh,” I stuttered. God dammit Cora.

“Who is this?” Shownu asked in a strict tone. He had no time for bullshit.

“Uh…”

“I don’t have time to play games. Who the fuck is this and what the fuck do you want? Jesus christ,” He sighed.

“Shownu?” Was all I could manage today.

“Cora?” Oh god I should’ve put on a voice. How did he know me so well? “Cora? Are you okay? Did anyone try to hurt you? Oh god. Where are you? I’m gonna come find you.”

“I’m fine I just…” How did I explain that I’m a curious bitch to this man? 

“You just what?” He asked in a tone that sounded concerned. But then there was a shift and he cockily answered himself, “You missed me so much that you just wanted to call me so you could hear my voice and tell me how much you need me.”

I totally pictured him in his picturesque office with his feet propped up on his pristine desk. The phone cord is wrapped around his finger. 

“No.”

“Then why else would you be calling me?” He sounded disappointed that I didn’t want to take part in his wet dream of having some weird phone sex that his mind was definitely thinking of right now.

“I just… was curious. You know, to see if you’d actually pick up if I called,” I said softly.

Shownu’s tone got more serious and gentle, “Of course I would. I’m on dial 24/7. Please don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. I’m here for you, Cora. ”

Why was I getting butterflies? I put hair behind my ear and giggled softly. This was so gross. I needed to hang up. So, I did. I gave no explanation as to why I left him hanging and then I hid my phone. I was not touching that for the rest of the night. Or at least until I said goodnight to Minhyuk. I also threw the business card away because I couldn’t contact him ever again. It was dangerous. And I felt extremely uncomfortable. 

I couldn’t put myself in this mess again. Things were going so well and here I was trying to fuck it all up again in the name of curiousity. Now, he probably had my number and was saving it into his phone as we speak. He could track me and stalk me if he wanted. The thought terrified me. Who knows what could happen to me. 

I put my head in my hands and just sobbed for a few hours because I didn’t know what else to do. 

~~~

My evening was the same as it typically was. It was dinner with my mom and dad. We had some roast with mashed potatoes and corn. A typical family dinner. But after that we decided to watch a movie together late into the night. It was something we hadn’t done in a while and clearly we needed some bonding time. This was the simple solution and I certainly didn’t mind it. 

It should’ve been fun, especially since we were watching a scifi, alien movie (my favorites). But my head was still spinning from earlier so I couldn’t process anything that was going on, on screen. Shownu’s words just kept playing in my head over and over again.

“ _ I’m here for you, Cora.” _

I could still hear the way he sounded as he said it to me. It was almost like he was saying something else. But he barely knew me. There’s no fucking way he could’ve felt anything for me. Not to mention that I hated his guts so if he did he would only be delusional to think I shared anything with him. 

I watched as someone died on screen from a blast which brought me back to reality. My dad was looking at me with curiosity as if he knew what I was thinking about. I hoped that this movie would be over soon. I needed to check my phone. 

After about 30 minutes, the credits started rolling and I quickly said goodnight to my parents. There was no way I was being subtle. I’m sure they will ask me about it tomorrow. After kisses on my cheek, I skipped up the stairs and into my bedroom. My phone was under one of my pillows where I last left it.

I opened it to a million Minhyuk texts of course. He wasn’t worried in fact he was rambling about how good the mixtape seemed. He was clearly so excited for his boyfriend and that made me smile. Then there was his typical goodnight text with a billion whale emojis:

_ Have a WHALEy great night Cora!!!!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!!! _

I couldn’t help but laugh at his stupif pun. He’s never pulled that one on me. 

_ Goodnight Minhyuk I love you too (despite your obnoxious pun) _

There was no response so I was able to check my other messages. Shownu tried to call me back a few times but I guess he gave up after a few times. Good. I didn’t need him. And I’m certainly glad he didn’t try to come find me. So I relaxed into my pillow. I was in the clear I think. 

That was until I saw my phone light up next to my head. I really thought it was Minhyuk replying but the number was unknown to my phone. I knew exactly who it was. After telling myself to not read it, of course I did the exact opposite. Because my curiosity for Shownu and his antics knew no end apparently.

_ Goodnight Cora. Sleep well. _

My heart shouldn’t be racing at this text. I hated the feeling because I hated him. This was only because I was tired. Nothing else. Who would want to date the most violent man in the world? Certainly not me. I hope he dies a slow painful death all alone. He didn’t deserve to feel love; especially not mine.

_ Goodnight Shownu. _

God dammit Cora. God  _ fucking _ dammit. I shoved my phone back under my pillow and turned over and went to sleep, cursing at myself.

~~~

The bars were full as they typically are on Saturday nights and I’m pretty sure half of the people in the establishment we were at were Jooheon’s friends. He was so popular. I felt like I was being introduced to someone new every few seconds. I don’t know how he managed to keep track of all these people. In fact I wanted to see what his contact list looked like because I was sure the list was endless.

As an introverted person, I found myself getting exhausted pretty quickly. After a while of mingling with people I barely knew, I retreated to the bar to drink a little by myself. I was having fun. But I just needed a break. Minhyuk must’ve noticed me as he came over to keep me company.

“Are you having fun?” He asked with a pout.

“Yeah! There’s just so many people I don’t know and I’m overwhelmed,” I explained.

“Yeah I understand. It’s a lot for me too,” Minhyuk rubbed the back of my neck, “I don’t really fit into his crowd of friends. When I get brought into his world it’s always so strange for me because of that.”

“Mmm,” I hummed as I took a sip of my beer.

Minhyuk followed my lead and sighed, “We're complete opposites I always wonder why he chose me.”

“I would not say that at all. You, Minhyuk, are a sweet little baby. You’re sunshine and rainbows all the time. Jooheon is a baby who is trying to act tough. He has a persona that he has to live up to but around you he’s completely himself. Trust me, you guys are perfectly matched. But I have to be honest with you, I think it’s cute when you get like this,” I giggled and ruffled his hair.

He blushed and fixed his hair, “Shush.”

Our conversation was like a call for Jooheon. He made his way over and hugged his boyfriend from behind. Minhyuk smiled as Jooheon placed a kiss on his cheek.

“You drunk yet love?” Jooheon asked.

“A little.”

“I can tell.”

“You’re definitely drunk,” Minhyuk stated.

“Am not!”

“You called me love. You never call me that unless you’re clingy. And you never get clingy with me unless you’re drunk,” Minhyuk giggled.

Jooheon leaned over and smothered Minhyuk’s cheeks with kisses. Suddenly I felt nauseous. “Okay maybe I am a little drunk.”

Minhyuk giggled, “You’re so gross.”

“I don’t see you doing anything about it,” Jooheon said before turning Minhyuk’s head and shoving his tongue in his mouth.

“Alright you two,” I interjected fearful that they could start fucking any moment. Also I didn’t need to see their gross make out session.

Minhyuk pulled away and laughed, his cheeks rosy red.

“Come with me baby, I need you to meet someone,” Jooheon said, pulling my friend away from me.

I sighed. The alcohol in my system was definitely starting to take effect. My brain felt unusually quiet. I didn’t drink often but today it just felt necessary. Especially with everything that happened last night, I needed to calm my mind. 

But something felt off. I thought getting drunk would make it go away but it lingered. I didn’t know what it was and it was bugging me. 

Suddenly, though, that feeling had a name. 

Because suddenly, a tall muscular man in a suit squeezed his way to the bar next to me.

_ Shownu. _

His order was beer. He definitely took me as a beer guy. I took a sip from my own drink to try to stop my head from making any stupid decisions. But alcohol didn’t work like that.

I turned to him. And god he looked so different. Sure, he was in his typical attire. But his hair wasn't done up all nice. In fact it looked disheveled. It was almost like he just got fu—

Alright I need to get out of here.

“Cora,” he said way too softly for this loud crowd. 

“Hi Shownu,” I greeted.

“What are you doing here?” He asked as he got his beer.

“I’m celebrating with a friend.”

His head moved slowly in a nod, “Nice.”

“I guess,” I shrugged.

“Are you not having fun?” 

“No I am just a little overwhelmed by it all and I don’t really fit in with my friend’s friends so I’m just chilling,” I answered.

Shownu leaned against the bar and got comfortable. His body was incredibly close to mine. I could feel the heat radiating off of it. I wanted to bathe in it. 

“Do you have a ride home?” He asked before taking a sip of his drink.

“No. And you’re not taking me when you’re dr—“

My sentence got interrupted by Minhyuk practically jumping on my back and yelling, “Cora! Cora! Cora!”

I laughed and turned to face him, ignoring Shownu. “What?”

“We’re gonna go down to Poppy’s a few blocks down. Apparently there’s an open mic tonight and we’re hoping to get Honey to do some songs from the tape!” He told me.

“Okay that sounds good!” I yelled. I could definitely use some live entertainment.

“Cool let’s go!” His hand grabbed my wrist and tugged on me. 

I grabbed my bag and stood up from my seat. The alcohol was certainly thinking for me because my hand grabbed Shownu‘s wrist and I whisked him away with me. He didn’t try to fight me off which surprised me. I thought it would be illegal to touch a mob boss. But I was walking along with him, his hand enveloping mine. 

Minhyuk and Jooheon walked ahead of us, their drunk selves trying to walk straight. They were laughing and giggling as if they were the only two people in the world. 

“Are they…?” Shownu's voice trailed off. I almost forgot about the fact that I was holding his hand. 

“Always this gross and adorable?” I finished, “Yeah. But it’s definitely worse tonight.”

It was silent between the two of us as we walked down the street. The four of us were passing by some buskers and Jooheon and Minhyuk stopped to admire them. They danced around all cute and Minhyuk was trying to sing along a little too loudly. Jooheon was twirling Minhyuk around which made me worry that Minhyuk might vomit. The guy who was performing couldn’t help but laugh at their display. When the dude performing finished his song the boyfriends screamed and clapped way too loudly.

God they were so drunk.

“WOOO!! YEAH!!” Minhyuk screamed.

People around us turned their heads to the two of them. I pushed them along to prevent any more embarrassment.

“Cora whose this?” Minhyuk slurred to Shownu. I can’t believe he didn’t notice the tall, muscular man this whole time.

“Oh uh…” Suddenly my hand became hot and I pulled away, “This is Shownu. I just met him at the bar back there.”

“Ooooh!!” Minhyuk giggled, “Cora and Shownu sitting in a tree! K-I—“

“Shut the fuck up Minhyuk!” I stopped him. I didn’t want to do any sort of romantic activities with this man. None.

“Oh come on Cora! He’s sexy,” Jooheon added.

Shownu laughed a dad laugh and I blushed. I needed to get out of here. 

“Thank you,” Shownu said.

“I’m not interested in him. Trust me.”

“Alright whatever you sayyyyy,” Minhyuk mocked.

I shook my head and we made our way to the next bar of the night. The music of these terrible singers filled my ear. People were cringing at the display of two drunk girls trying to sing a song. It was the worst. But I knew Jooheon would blow everyone out of the park. All of his friends gathered around together in a tight area. This place was packed. 

Shownu stood behind me. His chest was against my back and I could almost feel his heart beat. But of course he was heartless so chances of me finding that were tiny. His hands brushed against my waist which made my skin tingle. I was definitely drunk.

It didn’t take long for Jooheon to place himself on stage. He was a confident guy so he walked up there like he owned it. I didn’t know how he would rap while obnoxiously drunk but he certainly didn’t mind.

“I’m Jooheon. Joohoney,” he introduced, “I’m a rapper.”

There was music he had on his phone and he pressed play. And of course he made the crowd go wild. As he went batshit crazy on the mic, so did everyone else in the bar. It wasn’t even like he was slurring his words a minute ago because his flow was smooth. Minhyuk and I danced a little together, laughing at ourselves in the process. 

Jooheon performed a couple of songs before he exited the stage. Everyone suddenly was his fan, clamoring him for an autograph of some sort or his number. A couple of girls asked if he wanted to go home with him which only made Minhyuk cling to him. 

“You’re really good,” Shownu told him.

“Oh thanks man,” Jooheon smiled.

We all hung out together for a couple more sets that were disappointing compared to Jooheon’s. After that, we decided we should head home. Shownu offered to drive the three of us back. Before I could insist him to not do that, Minhyuk and Jooheon were on board. 

His car wasn’t far, which was nice because I was sure Minhyuk would pass out in any second. He was rambling about something but he was too drunk to enunciate any of his words. Jooheon just pretended he knew what his boyfriend was talking about which only made him get progressively more excited. 

We got into Shownu’s fancy car which made Minhyuk excited.

“Coraaaa!! Date hiiim,” he pouted.

“No.”

“Hes riiiiiich,” Minhyuk enticed which made Shownu laugh as he started the car.

If only he knew why he was rich. I mean I had kinda forgotten that this man was the most wanted criminal in the city. Mostly because he seemed so human. It was impossible to believe that he took the lives of others. 

We drove back to Jooheon and Minhyuk’s apartment which wasn’t far. Jooheon insisted he could get his boyfriend upstairs no problem. I still insisted I could help because I didn’t want to be alone with Shownu.

“No, no. You guys uh…” He smirked as he dragged Minhyuk from the vehicle, “You guys have fun.”

“Shut the fuck up!” I yelled at him.

“Love you Cora. Thanks for coming,” he giggled.

“I LOVE YOU CORAAAA!!” Minhyuk screamed.

“Love you guys too!”

Jooheon closed the door and Shownu looked at me. “You have nice friends.”

“Thanks. I know.”

I faced toward the front, not wanting to look at his face. After a brief moment, he started moving toward the direction of my house. I couldn’t wait to get home and beat myself up over tonight. It was fun to be with my friends but it was stupid that I somehow managed to find Shownu and drag him along.

Why couldn’t I get rid of him? Every single time I thought he was out of my life, he always came back in. Whether it was physically or just in my thoughts didn’t matter because I still managed to always bring him back in somehow. And I just couldn’t stop it. Lord knows, I hated being out of control. 

When Shownu pulled up to my house, I turned to thank him for driving me and that I never wanted to see him again. But he stopped me.

“Do you really hate me that much?” He asked, his eyebrow raised at me.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a fucking criminal who has put my family through hell and back. Not to mention that you’ve threatened me and lied to me about being in some sort of danger whe—“

“I didn’t lie to you about that,” he interrupted.

“Well whatever the rest of that shit still stands.”

“I don’t think you hate me as much as you let yourself believe Cora. Because here you are, in my car… again, you pulled me along with your friends, you texted me goodnight, and you called me after you said you wouldn’t. I just want to know why you want me in your life so bad when you tell me over and over again that you don’t want me.”

He had a huge fucking point and I hated him for it. I wanted to slap him. 

“I…” I trailed off into thought because I didn’t even know the answer. “I don’t know.”

“Yes you do,” he whispered to me.

My heart was racing and I wanted to stop it. But I couldn’t. Because his mouth was really close to mine, I could practically feel the softness of his skin and his dark eyes were sparkling as they looked into mine. I told myself I shouldn’t let this happen but my curiosity never stopped. From the moment I laid my eyes on him, I wanted to know what it would feel like.

When he finally placed his lips on mine I realized why I kept doing the things I did. Because god this was the most perfect kiss I’ve ever had. His lips were just soft as I imagined. They tasted like beer which only intoxicated me more. The skin on my neck tingled as he brought his hand up to hold my face. I sighed into the kiss. The feelings of euphoria took me over. I didn’t want it to end. 

Shownu pulled away slowly and looked at me like he had broken me. I tried to catch my breath and get out of the car but I only wanted more. My lips were tingling from the feeling. I leaned in again trying to find that feeling. He smiled into the kiss which made me giggle softly. My hands gripped his very soft hair as I sucked on his pillowy bottom lip. This is what heaven felt like.

He pulled away quickly which made me realize what the fuck just happened.

“You should go,” he said, “It’s late.”

“Yeah…” But god I didn’t want to leave. 

“I’ll uh…” he cleared his throat, “I’ll see you around.”

I nodded and spoke softly, “Yeah.”

Because I knew denying the fact that I would never see him again would only be a lie. Especially with the way my body felt right now. I was crumbling under my own defenses. It was more apparent when I left the safety of his car. I wanted to hop back in and just kiss him forever. As I walked toward my front door I was interrupted in my tracks.

“Goodnight Cora.”

I couldn’t face him. Not right now. “Goodnight Shownu.”


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

  
  
  
  


_ Did you kiss the cute man? _

Minhyuk’s first text in the morning was not the reminder I was looking for. I hadn’t thought about it for the last few minutes but I’m pretty sure I dreamed about it and it was all I could think about before falling asleep. In fact, I couldn’t fall asleep because all I could think about was Shownu’s lips. I couldn’t stop thinking about how soft they felt and how gentle of a kisser he was. I couldn’t stop thinking about his soft hand on the skin of my neck. I’m pretty sure it burned a hole there because my skin was still tingling. 

There was no way I could deny it any longer. I kept telling myself that it was only the alcohol but I’m pretty sure all the effects had worn off. And here I was still thinking about kissing Shownu. Not only that, but I wanted to do it again.

I hated that. I hated this feeling. 

I sighed and texted my best friend back.

_ Yeah. It was so gross. He was a terrible kisser. _

Maybe if I lied to myself enough I would start to believe it. There was no way I was going to find myself falling in love with the same man that threatened me and my family. Shownu had a pretty face, I would not deny that, but even the prettiest of faces could not make up for his super ugly personality. In fact, I felt somewhat terrible that I was feeling this way. It wasn’t right. I knew it wasn’t. So why was my heart racing at the thought of it happening again? Why did I wanna text him right now?

These were questions I asked myself as I took a shower, washing away all traces of Shownu that were left. It didn’t wash away the feelings though. In fact being alone with my thoughts helped them marinate in my mind. My heart raced as my fingers came to my lips. They felt so sensitive as I remembered the way he kissed me. The tenderness of his kiss, how deliberate he was in kissing me. It wasn’t hard or forced. He was purposely gentle with me. In fact, it was the greatest kiss I had ever experienced in my life. I hadn’t kissed a lot of people in my life but it still spoke volumes.

As I looked at my reflection in the foggy mirror after my shower, I saw my reddened face. It was clear as day. I sighed at my own weakness and went into my room to get dressed. 

Normally, I felt safe in my own room. There was no reason to feel unsafe here. But I looked out the window and saw the person I absolutely despised the most. 

_ Wonho. _ __

There he was in plain view, watching me through my window. 

I was still naked.

Even from a distance I could still see his lips curl.

I definitely wanted to punch him again. 

After quickly covering my body in clothes, I made my way out of the house and into the street. Wonho was standing in front of his car. A cigarette was in his hand and billows of smoke fell from his lips. His muscles were popping out of his too small suit. His lips formed into a shit-eating grin as I approached him. His posture got straighter when I came face-to-face with him.

“Good morning Cora,” he greeted. His tone was full of sarcasm. 

“Don’t talk to me.”

“I wasn’t planning to. You’re the one who approached me,” he stated as he brought the cigarette to his lips. I noticed a tattoo on his ring finger. 

“Why are you here? And why the fuck were you watching me through my bedroom window like a perv?” I yelled at him.

He laughed, “‘Cos I want to fuck your brains out.” My hand went up to slap him but his empty hand went around my wrist before I could do anything. His reflexes were way too quick. I guess they had to be for this type of business. “You really don’t want to do that again. I was only kidding anyway. So chill out.”

“Ha. Ha,” I said dryly.

“Look. You can go back inside. I'm not here to bother you. I’m sure your dad will kill you anyway if he sees you with me.”

“Tell me why you’re here then I’ll leave,” I demanded.

Wonho sighed as he flicked ashes onto the ground. “Shownu feels it’s best that we watch over you from now on. And since I’m the one on call this weekend I had to be the one to do it.” He took a drag before continuing, “I didn’t mean to look through your window like a creep. I’m sorry. But I’m not here to bug you.”

It was stupid to just take a blind apology but I decided to let it go. Just for the sake of not starting another fight with this guy. I didn't feel like getting beat up today.

“Well I’m leaving anyway so you can too,” I said as I started to walk off in the direction towards the mall. 

“Wait. Lemme take you. Where are you heading?”

“Like I wanna go shopping with a guy who almost killed me,” I said.

“Look. I gotta do this for the sake of getting paid so I’m following you whether you like it or not.”

I sighed. I was really going to accept a defeat. At this point, there was no way I could get rid of these guys so I might as well just accept the fact that I was really going to go to the mall with a man who beat me. I sulked as I got into his car to his bemusement.

The smell of weed and old smoke overwhelmed by senses. You could probably get high off this alone. It wasn’t as clean and orderly as Shownu’s car. The cupholder was full of ash and cigarette butts. At least he didn’t litter. There were various papers scattered on the floor beneath my feet. I wanted to know what was on them but my brain told me that was a bad idea. The backseat was full of clothes. Those were probably to change when he got done beating someone’s ass to death. 

Wonho climbed into the driver’s seat and I told him where I was going. He drove me while I sat in complete silence in the passenger seat, hoping my parents didn’t notice any of that.

~~~

It wasn’t supposed to end up like this. I expected him and I really wanted him to keep his distance while I bought new clothes for work. But once I tried on an outfit I wasn’t sure about, Wonho was really the only option I had. I had tried texting Minhyuk on his opinion but he hadn’t answered quickly enough. So Wonho was the next best thing. Eventually, it just became like two friends having a trip to the mall.

I would come out of a dressing room and look at him quizzically to see what he would think. Most of his replies would be “oh yeah Shownu would like that” or “no Shownu doesn’t like lavender” or something. I hated that because the last thing I needed was to think about him. But I also still took mental notes on those things, just in case I needed them later. 

After a while, we had gotten food because Wonho said he was hungry and we made some small talk. He found himself to be quite humorous and while I didn’t get some of his jokes he thought they were funny and sometimes that’s all that matters. I found myself laughing at him because he was laughing at himself. I really found myself genuinely enjoying his company. I didn’t want to and I kept telling myself that this man kills people (and that he almost killed me) but eventually that voice got smaller.

Wonho really liked to eat but he told me it’s because he works out a lot and so he needed to keep up with his calories. He was also single and wasn’t really looking for a relationship but if one came to his feet he said he would take it (he had no preference for a gender). He also said he really liked to bake despite the fact that he wasn’t good at it. And I couldn’t imagine him doing anything mundane but watching him scour through clothes and eat a burrito, I began to see him as a person. 

It felt wrong, but there was no stopping the feeling I was getting when I was around him.

When I tried on a final dress, I was really unsure if it looked good or not. I had texted a picture to Minhyuk and Wonho had told me it was his favorite. Minhyuk had sent me a quick text that really sold the deal for me:

_ Yesssssssssss!!!!!!!!! You look like a summer goddess!!!! Absolute perfection!!  _

Which made me feel really good until I watched my phone light up again as I was getting dressed to leave. This time from the number I never wanted to see on my phone again. 

_ Please tell me you bought the blue striped dress. That one is my favorite. _

To which I wanted to punch Wonho in the face for sending pictures of me to Shownu without my knowledge. And I told myself that I should just put the dress back because I wanted to spite him but in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to do such a thing. Maybe I would wear it for him in the future. I really wanted to punch myself for thinking such a thing.

After finishing my final order, I had probably a million bags from several different stores (which Wonho helped me carry). We decided after that that we should get a pretzel because mall pretzels are the best and I applauded him for having such taste. We sat on a ledge munching away at our treats when Wonho turned to face me. 

His eyes stared into my soul when he said, “I’m sorry.” I slowed my chewing and looked at him in question. “You know…. for beating you up and threatening you. It’s just the way the game goes you know. Like you crossed into my territory and I had to do what was best to protect me but I realize that I may have crossed a line and I’m sorry.”

“No I understand,” I said after swallowing my bite, “I realize how stupid I was to get involved and come at you like that. It was just a big heat of the moment kinda thing. I’m not angry.”

“You know when Shownu said he needed me to watch you I thought he was going insane. But I can see why he likes you,” I decided to ignore that, “You’re really cool, Cora. And I just want you to know that I’m here if you ever need me yeah?”

What the fuck was happening? Were we becoming….  _ Friends?  _ I just nodded because there was nothing else to say. We finished our pretzels and headed home. 

The car ride was mostly silent. He smoked most of the way back to my house so the ride was mostly filled with his breathing. I realized hours had passed even though they felt like minutes. It was a weird feeling to have when this person was someone I should avoid at all costs. But he genuinely felt safe. I had seen a different side to him and he had seen a different side to me. So now, we could put away whatever hatred we had for each other because now he was going to have to deal with me a lot. 

When we got to my house, he gave me his number (I guess we really were friends) and told me that if I needed to talk he was willing to listen. I thanked him for the ride and coming along and grabbed my clothes and left. There was a creeping feeling that got only worse as I got close to my house. It was that feeling of knowing you’re doing something wrong but it feels so right at the same time.

And that feeling didn’t leave for months. 

I found myself getting more used to having “protection” around (I still didn’t feel like I was in any danger). There would always be a car across the street and I found myself curious every day who would be there waiting. There were a lot of days when it was guys I didn’t know and didn’t care to know. Those days were my least favorite. But then there were days when I would see the window roll down and Wonho’s face would appear, hands flicking cigarette ashes to the ground below him. Those days were my favorite. 

He would come into my work and order an iced Americano and he would make sure I was the one who made it. Then he would sit at a window for hours, usually until I got off work. Minhyuk would always make off handed comments about how weird he seemed to me. I didn’t want to hide things from him but I also didn’t want him to know I was involved in any way with these people. So I would just agree. 

Wonho’s days especially became my favorite when Minhyuk’s schedule got switched to nights while Carrie had to find a replacement for the closing shift. Working with Minhyuk always made my days bearable and so being without him made my work life very difficult (Minhyuk agreed that his work life was also miserable without me). So I would find myself in Wonho’s car just ranting away about how shitty work was and that I wanted to quit. And he was always there to listen and encourage me to keep going. It felt wrong spilling my guts to a guy who almost killed me but it always felt good when he would rub my shoulder and tell me I’m doing the best I can. 

My absolute favorite days, though, were the days when I would see  _ that _ black car parked in front of the house. It didn’t feel right getting excited about it and I would spend a lot of time beating myself up when my heart would race and the butterflies would awaken in my tummy. But after a while, it just felt bad about feeling bad so I would give in. And since it usually came on weekends, I had all day to watch. I never tried to make it obvious. I would try really hard. But the window of that car would roll down and I knew I was caught. A smirk would come across his face as if to say “I know you’re watching” and I couldn’t do anything to deny it. 

Those days were when I found myself dreaming the most. The dreams were usually all the same. I was in that car with him and our lips were connected just like they were that one night ages ago. 

I wanted to get over it. I really did. Because I knew this was all wrong. I couldn’t feel this way about him because he was dangerous. There was a line I think we both know we shouldn’t cross and so we never did. I certainly couldn’t bring myself to do so. If I did that means I would have to accept that feeling that I didn’t want to accept yet. I couldn’t accept it. This man was a criminal and he hurt my father in many ways. Going out there would mean I was putting someone above my family and that felt terrible. 

But it didn’t stop me from dreaming about what an ideal world would look like. One where he wasn’t wanted by the law and didn’t harm people for a living (including my father). 

~~~

Today was a good day because after a month I had finally got to work with my best friend. I was never scheduled for a closing shift but the other person who works during this time had the day off so I was scheduled to work with Minhyuk. It was the first time we had worked together in over a month and man did it feel really good. We were back to having our usual work comradery. And since it was Friday, it was pretty busy which means Minhyuk was more funny than usual. It really did my heart and soul good. I could ignore all my other worries.

We had finished for the day (which went by super quickly as it does when I work with Minhyuk), and Jooheon had texted Minhyuk that he would be a little late so I decided to keep Minhyuk company until he comes. We sat on the step outside after we had locked the doors. I laid my head on his shoulder and sighed with contentment. Even though it was a busy and tiring day it felt good to be with my best friend.

“I really hope Carrie puts me back on the morning shift soon. I really miss working with you Cora,” Minhyuk pouted.

“Same.”

“She had some interviews yesterday so hopefully those end up being hired.”

I nodded. 

“Are you okay Cora? You seem really quiet.” 

There was a lot eating at me. And I had kept it a secret from him. Most days it was easy to ignore and so when I hung out with him it was easy to pretend like nothing was happening. But lately, these feelings have been eating me alive. Mostly because Shownu had been watching me last night. So of course I can only find most of my thoughts only being occupied by him. It was so strange because our kiss had happened months ago and yet I found myself craving his lips more than I did when it first happened. 

“Do you ever have a feeling that you shouldn’t feel but you feel it anyway?” I asked.

Minhyuk giggled. “What do you mean?”

“Like… Do you ever get this feeling when doing something that you know you shouldn’t do it but you feel so good that you do it anyway?”

He sat in silence to think for a second before speaking, “I mean I guess…? Like Honey always says I have enough whale plushies but when I go to the mall they have that plushie store there and there’s always new whale plushies to be bought and I just can’t help myself you know? I know Honey will be upset with me but I also know those feelings won’t last long and he knows how happy they make me. I always like to think about what would bring me long term joy you know? Like sure, you might feel bad about doing it in the moment but what about a month? A year? It’s just finding out what will make you feel the most good.”

I shot my head up at his advice. He looked at me quizzically as I came to my own realization. Things started to really make sense. 

“Minhyuk you’re so brilliant,” I stated.

He laughed before giving himself a pat on the shoulder, “I know.”

At the moment Jooheon pulled up in his car apologizing profusely for being late. Minhyuk told him it’s okay that I was here to keep him company before giving him a kiss. I smiled and greeted Jooheon before we made typical small talk about our day. We agreed we would all hang out tomorrow because it has been too long since the three of us got together and we said our goodbyes. 

As I walked home, my brain kept moving at lightning speed. I kept realizing and kept questioning myself. Was this really what I wanted? Would it really bring me long term happiness? Was Shownu  _ my _ whale plushie? I tried to tell myself that the answer was no because it’s what I honestly needed to think. But in reality I had never felt this way about anyone and while it was scary I knew what I needed to do. 

So instead of walking home, I found myself turning around and going to the subway station. It was stupid. I was feeling stupid. But it felt so smart at the same time. 

When I reached my stop I realized the club wasn’t a far walk from the station. It was about 9 o’clock on a Friday night so I knew I would probably have to deal with some sleazy men. It was gross being called out but I had a mission and my mind wouldn’t be able to rest until I completed my mission. 

The bouncer eyed me as I handed him my ID. He was probably questioning why a girl would be coming to this establishment but he just shrugged and nodded before letting me go inside. The loud music filled my ears and there was a crowd of dudes watching a girl on stage dance like her life depended on it. It was different from the last time I was here and it felt gross. 

The owner, whose name I had forgotten, was at the bar with a bartender catering drinks to thirsty (in every sense of the word) customers. I walked over and he smiled at me. He definitely remembers me.

“Cora!” This guy had a good memory.

“Hey uh…”

“Damn baby you forgot my name?” He played as he arched his pierced eyebrow at me.

“Sorry,” I giggled. 

“It’s okay,” he said as he leaned over the counter, “It’s Changkyun.”

“That’s right!”

He smiled at me before asking, “What are you doing here? Normally I wouldn’t mind such a pretty girl coming to visit but it’s weird to see a girl in this kind of establishment especially at an hour like this. Did you miss me that much?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Although his eyes sparkled as he eyed me and it certainly made me feel something. Curse sexy man charms.

“Damn. I was really missing you… shame.”

“Is Shownu here?” I asked, changing the subject before he sweet talked me too much.

“Uh…. I think so I haven’t seen him leave.”

“Take me to him please?”

He nodded and let the other bartender know he was leaving for a second before leading the way. He unlocked a back down and led me down that familiar hallway. The same one was terrified about all those months ago. I remember shaking out of my boots. I had never been more terrified in my life. But now I was calm. There was a little fear but I wasn’t afraid for my life. Mostly of rejection.

I hadn’t faced that door in months and so being in front of it, I felt the familiar fear rise up in my throat. It was just scary being in this place and confronting someone who was much bigger and much more powerful than me. Changkyun knocked and let the person on the other side know that I was here. He winked at me before walking off. 

My brain kept telling me to run away much like the first time I was here. My feet were stuck in the spot as I tried to figure out which direction to go. But once that door opened to the tall, broad figure of Shownu I knew exactly where I needed to be.

“Cora,” he said.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” His voice was soft. 

“I uh… I needed to talk to you.”

“Come in then.”

I walked into the threshold on his office that hasn't changed a bit over the past few months. Except now his windows had white curtains. They were very fitting for the space. He leaned on his desk as I stood at the door unsure of my next move.

“You know I love that dress on you,” he said after some silence, “It’s my favorite.”

I looked down and sure enough I was wearing that blue striped dress. It was a summery dress so I had decided to wear it to work today to mark the beginning of spring time. But I had totally forgotten that I was wearing it and why I had ended up buying it in the first place. 

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Another moment of silence. The tension in the room was eating me alive but I didn’t know what to say or what to do. I couldn’t even look him in the eye. It was too hard to face him. And it was too hard to tell him things that I could barely admit to myself.

“Why are you here? Is everything okay? Did someone try to hurt you?” Shownu questioned as I tried to form coherent thoughts.

“No, no. I’m okay,” I answered as I looked into those deep brown eyes. My walls were crumbling. The voice in my head telling me that this was all wrong was suddenly going quiet.

“Then why are you here? It’s kind of late and I just—“

“Shownu I love you.”

I think we were both surprised at my own admission because his eyes went wide. I let out a sigh as if I had been holding this in for centuries (maybe I have). It felt so weird saying it out loud because it was something that I could barely admit to myself. But now the words were out there floating in that sea of tension that only seemed to get thicker and thicker. I felt my muscles tense in anticipation and fear. 

Shownu sighed as he comprehended my words, “Cora you don’t love me.”

“Yes I do Shownu. Because it’s been like 4 months since we had our kiss and I think about every god forsaken day from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. Fuck, I even dream about it. And when I know you’re outside my house I can’t help but feel excited because you’re there and some days I just wanna crawl in and do it all over again. Shownu I…. I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my life and it’s so scary but I’m so excited at the same time,” I had spoken rather quickly as I thought dumped my feelings.

“Cora…”

I started to approach him but I stopped because I was too scared to close that gap. Hopefully, he would meet me halfway and tell me he felt the same.

“You know this is dangerous,” he cautioned, “You know the type of business I’m in and the type of people I deal with. I can’t drag you into this. I need you to understand.”

“But I’m already dragged into Shownu! I’ve been in this mess for months. Hell, there’s someone out there trying to hurt me. I’m already in it Shownu I just….”

“Cora…”

I pleaded, “Please Shownu.”

Shownu rubbed his hand over his face and sat there for a moment while taking a deep breath. His hair was messier than usual. I imagined he had a long day. Especially since he was here at this hour. 

Just when I thought he would he would finally close the gap he turned and looked out the window. I felt so defeated.

“I care for you Cora I really do—“

“Then come here and kiss me.”

“—but because I care for you I can’t let this happen,” he finished.

“Shownu please…”

He turned to face me again, “I can’t Cora I’m sorry.”

Out of all the things I was expecting from this, rejection really wasn't on the list. I had been scared of it but I let myself believe that he felt the same way. Which, clearly he did, but he was being a dick about it. I was already in his world, I was friends with one of his men for fuck’s sake. And yet I was leaving with nothing. 

“I’ll take you home,” he offered. 

“No. I’ll be fine,” I said softly before leaving the room.

How could I have been so stupid and niave? I really let myself believe that I could date the most famous criminal in my city. 

The ride home was spent in misery and when I got home and my parents asked where I had been, I lied and said Minhyuk needed me because his childhood dog died and that’s why I was so upset. No I’ll be okay, I’m just gonna go to bed. They didn’t fight it of course, I was clearly believable. 

I didn’t even shower off all the sweat and germs from work and public transportation. I laid in bed marinating in the feelings of rejection. It was fucking fair. He seemed like he loved me and wanted this just as much as me yet he was an obnoxious prick who didn’t see how good it would feel for us to be together. He was too caught up in his own world to see what was in front of him.

To say I didn’t cry at least a little would’ve been a lie. My room started to feel stuffy so I opened my window to get fresh air and lose myself in the sounds of the city at night. I laid in bed trying to stop the inevitable thoughts about his lips on mine but of course I couldn’t. I could only bask in them and imagine what could’ve been if he said yes before I started to drift off. 

I was awoken very quickly though, to the sound of something large falling onto the floor. My heart started racing as I jumped up to see what was going on. A large figure stood up and before I could scream, my eyes adjusted to see Shownu in my room. 

“What are you doing here?” I whispered, “You probably woke my parents up.”

“You’re going to drive me into insanity, you know that Cora?” He spoke, his voice just above a whisper.

“You already do that to me so I guess it’s fair game.”

Shownu walked over to my bed and sat down next to my legs. His eyes were still sparkling in the dark. “When you left I felt so stupid because here was someone who I have feelings for reciprocating everything I feel and I pushed you away.”

“Yeah it was pretty stupid of you,” I giggled.

“Cora you have to understand, in my line of work power is everything and these men will do whatever it takes to take control. If that means going after your wife or girlfriend or mom or whatever, they don’t care. It’s important to you and so therefore I will use them as bait. And not to mention the fact that I’m wanted by literally everyone so I could go to jail or worse. I just… I can’t let you get hurt,” he explained, “I’m already fearful enough of you getting hurt that I’m basically giving you free bodyguard protection.”

“But Shownu I can hold my own. I’m not scared of this. I’ve dealt with it for my entire life. And I’ve been through a lot because of it, but I’ve always picked myself up and moved on. I just… I know it’s bad but god dammit Shownu you’re my whale plushie and I want you regardless of anything else because it would make me so fucking happy,” I giggled.

He laughed “What?”

“It’s nothing.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes before he looked at me. I was unsure of where our conversation would go from here but he leaned in to me and I knew exactly where to go. I met him halfway and finally got my craving satisfied. And man it felt so, so good. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAA sorry this took so long and all I have to offer is a short chapter I hope you enjoy anyway :<

Chapter 13

  
  
  
  
  


My mind was hazy as the morning sun came through my windows. I had awoken completely forgetful of the events that had transpired last night. But Shownu’s arm wrapped around my bare body as my head laid on his bare chest made it easy to jog my memory. My body remembered everything from the feeling of not only his lips on my own but his lips on my skin. His touchy hands as he learned the ways around my body. The way he would take his time learning how and where I liked to be touched and kissed. How his sweat would mingle with mine as he thrust in me. The way he sounded when we connected and eventually when he came all over my stomach. He was definitely experienced and he was very good. I remembered it all so vividly in my mind. It was something I wanted to experience again. 

I leaned up to look at him. Like get a really good look at him. His breathing was slow and his face was relaxed, his lips pursed in a pout as he dreamed. He looked like a cute teddy bear. Even more so than usual. His body, even though he had rock hard muscles, was soft and smooth (it felt really good to run my fingers over him). His chest was covered in red marks from my own exploration. I didn’t realize I had gone that crazy. I leaned in to place a kiss on those pillowy lips. It felt good to have him here and it felt good to kiss him. 

As I pulled away Shownu’s eyes slowly opened, bright in the morning sunlight that was lighting up my room. A smile slowly grew on his lips as he came to the same realization I had come to not too long ago. 

“Good morning Cora,” he said in a groggy voice as his hand ran over my hair, tucking a piece behind my ear. 

I couldn’t help but blush. His eyes were staring into my soul. This feeling felt so foreign that I didn’t know what to do with myself. But he turned me over and kissed me hard, so I knew how I was going to spend my morning. 

My hand went through his soft hair as he kissed down my neck. His soft contented hums vibrated through my body. We both were sticky so our skin stuck together as he moved down my body. His eyes looked up at me as he watched for my reaction. He kissed, bit, or sucked every inch of my chest. It was still red and marked from last night so it was only going to be worse. A cheeky smile came across his lips as I encouraged him to keep going.

But we were interrupted from my phone buzzing on the nightstand. I felt aggravated that I wouldn’t get to experience that high because I knew exactly who was calling. And the caller ID confirmed and the loud voice further confirmed it.

“CORA!!!!” Minhyuk screamed on the other line.

Shownu kissed my neck again as I greeted Minhyuk, “You would be great as a wake up call person.”

“Hahaha. Anyway we’re on our way over. Jooheon wants to go shopping for some clothes since his mixtape is dropping next month. He says he needs to flex as much as he can—“

I had to hurry, “Okay sounds good.”

“—Quite frankly our bank account isn’t anything to flex about but whatever makes him feel good. He says it doesn’t matter if the clothing is expensive or not. If you make it look expensive it will be. I don’t understand fashion that much although I’ve been interested lately thanks to Honey but I still—“

“I need to take a shower Minhyuk so I’ll see you when you get here.”

I hung up and tried to move out from under Shownu. He wouldn’t budge, his lips still firmly attached to my skin. I didn’t want to leave but I also didn’t want to meet my friends feeling like and smelling like I got completely fucked. 

“Shownu I need to take a shower,” I moaned as he kissed the sweet spot below my ear.

“Mmm,” he hummed against my skin. “When does your friend get here?”

“It takes him like 20 minutes. I really need to be clean.”

He sighed. I understood the disappointment because I wanted him just as much as he wanted me. Breaking apart sent shivers down my spine as I didn’t have the warmth of his body around me anymore. There was a weird sense of safety that came with being enveloped by him. Because although he was a dangerous criminal, he was warm and soft and had big muscles. This was someone who could protect me. 

I really didn’t want him to leave. 

So, when he offered to take a shower with me of course I said yes. And when his arms wrapped around me, I didn’t stop him. When his hands started to toy around my body I encouraged him. Shownu was quick. He knew we didn’t have a lot of time. His fingers were quick and his movements were messy as he helped me chase another high. My fingers wrapped around him to pay him back. I felt his heavy breath around my shoulder before he placed kisses on it. 

“You’re so beautiful Cora,” he moaned out just like he had a million times last night. It certainly made me feel good. 

I couldn’t really say anything because that familiar knot in my stomach was starting to form. My head leaned back against his chest as my hips grinded against his hand. My hand was still working on him. He watched me as I came undone to his touch. I tried to be quiet so as to not alert anybody in this house that something was going on. My muscles became tense and my mouth opened in complete euphoria. I could only sigh out once I had finished off. He kissed me on my cheek as I tried to get him to come. It didn’t take long as he said the sight of me is enough to make him feel this way. His come coated my stomach and hand for a few seconds before it was washed away by the warm water we were standing under. His eyes and teeth clenched together and his head was bent back as I gave him his high. It was absolutely beautiful. We stood under the water basking in the post-orgasmic high before I quickly washed myself of any traces of sex that could possibly be left. 

Shownu had gotten dressed in last night’s clothes and he looked so wrecked. It was different to see him in an ungroomed state. His hair was falling into his eyes and sticking up in some places. I loved it. He looked like a normal person. We gave a kiss goodbye and he was climbing out my window to leave. There was emptiness that came over my room as I watched him drive off. 

~~~

Minhyuk and I were sitting in a dressing room area waiting for Jooheon to pick out some clothes. It had been a long day of going from store to store as Jooheon tried to find some outfits that fit him. I had even ended up in a Gucci store which was a strange experience. He was going a bit crazy even though Minhyuk had told him many times that there was no way he could afford all of this stuff. It didn’t stop him though. And now Minhyuk and I were reduced to his bag carriers. 

Minhyuk had sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked exhausted from this long day. He pushed up the glasses he was wearing and started tapping his knees. I could tell he was anxious. 

“You alright?” I asked as I placed my hand on his shoulder. 

He whispered to me, “I know he’s practically wiped our bank account from all this. He tells me not to worry that he will make loads of money once he releases his mixtape. I want to believe him and support him but also he’s not that well known. It’s hard for up and coming artists to make money and I just… worry. We had a fight last night.”

I had never taken those two for being a couple that fights often. So I’m sure if they ever did, it had to be really intense. I certainly had never seen them fight in my life. But today definitely did feel a little tense. Minhyuk cautioned Jooheon about things but Jooheon failed to listen to his boyfriend’s concerns, doing his own thing anyway. I know Minhyuk was always laid back so to see him so tense concerned me. 

“Oh shit,” I breathed.

“Yeah… I mean we fight, any healthy couple should have some arguments, but… It just felt different,” Minhyuk said as he looked down at his hands, “I never really get in his way because I understand his life is different than mine but… I mean we’re a unit and I just feel like he’s trying to be someone he’s not. He’s changing Cora and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared.”

I rubbed his shoulder to let him know I was here but I didn’t say anything. Quite frankly, I didn’t know what to say. Usually I would squash his fears that everything would be okay and they probably will be. But there was still a lot of tension and it certainly was a different feeling. Like when Jooheon came out and bought some more clothes and Minhyuk asked him if it was really necessary to which Jooheon replied he could do what he wanted. 

It was certainly awkward to be in the car with him with all this tension. I didn’t want to get involved so I just had to suffer through it. Minhyuk turned on his music and started bopping along to the beat. It was the first time I had seen him smile all day. It was kind of depressing. But I was glad he was finding something to enjoy. Jooheon turned down the music slightly and Minhyuk eyed him before turning it back up. 

“Baby it’s really loud,” Jooheon said before turning the radio down again. 

“I don’t care,” Minhyuk spat as he turned it back up. Oh god I was really about to experience the rare fight between these two.

“What’s your problem?” Jooheon asked as he turned down the music once again.

“I don’t know Jooheon, the fact that you’re spending all our money and then ignoring me when I have genuine concerns. You’ll probably blow all this off too. So just let me have some fun,” Minhyuk’s voice was raised and I had never seen him get anything above mildly inconvenienced. He never got angry often.

“We’re not going to go broke babe. It’s okay,” Jooheon reassured.

“You don’t know that! You’ve spent all our savings on clothes and for what? Like I understand you want to look cool but there’s a line and you’ve crossed it. We have a rent!... And food! I don’t get paid for two weeks and so for you to blow our money like that?! It’s unnecessary!”

“You know that this is my dream Minhyuk!” 

Jooheon never called his boyfriend anything but disgusting pet names. I knew this was serious. I just placed my hands between my legs and sat awkwardly playing ref for this argument. Hopefully things wouldn’t get too out of control but I would be there to play a mediator if necessary.

Minhyuk sighed, “I know it’s your dream but we still have bills to pay. You can have an image but blowing all our money isn’t fair to me!”

“I’m going to make money from this, you know I will.”

“But how much? Jooheon, you aren’t some worldwide famous rapper that makes millions. I know you want to be but you’re not. You probably never will be.”

“Okay that hurt! You can’t say those things to me Minhyuk that’s not fair!” Jooheon yelled.

“I’m just being realistic!”

“You don’t have to kill my dreams!”

“Jooheon…” Minhyuk almost pleaded.

“You know what? Forget it,” Jooheon closed.

Minhyuk sighed and looked out the window. I looked at him from the passenger mirror and saw his face drop. He blinked rather quickly to remove tears that were probably forming. My heart broke for him… for them. These guys had become my best friends and it sucked to see them fight like this. They didn’t say another word to each other the entire ride back to my house. Minhyuk was sulking in the passenger seat while fun, bubbly pop music played softly in the background. I found the juxtaposition quite funny but also I didn’t want my friend to be upset. I put my hand on his shoulder. His head leaned against it as his hand was placed on top of mine. 

I wanted to understand Jooheon and I did to an extent. It’s intimidating going out into a new world. You want to fit in so I understood wanting to uphold his image. But I couldn’t excuse the way he was ignoring Minhyuk’s concerns. If anything, Minhyuk was my friend first and I wanted to do my best to protect him. 

Once we got to my house, I felt bad having to leave Minhyuk alone but they really had to work it out alone. We said our goodbyes, Minhyuk was being his typical loud self (which I assumed was his way of saying he was okay but I knew he was not) and then they left. It felt really good to get out of the awkward tension. The air certainly felt fresher and more breathable. 

I turned my head to across the street from my house as I deeply inhaled and smiled and made my way over. Not before I looked through the windows of my house though. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being watched. Luckily, it looked like both of my parents were out. So I took this opportunity to hop into the car that was sitting there. 

The smell of old smoke and forest filled my senses as I climbed into the passenger seat of Wonho’s vehicle. He sat there, a cigarette between the lips. It had been a while since I had last seen him. Every time I texted him about talking or something he usually responded with an ‘I’m busy’ text. I never got pissed about it because I was sure being Shownu’s underboss came with a lot of responsibilities. There was also the part of my brain who thought it was good that we never had time togetherber because it was dumb to get involved with these people in the first place. That voice was there a lot but every time I found myself in the safety of Wonho’s car, it was suddenly quiet. 

“It’s been a while,” I mumbled.

“Yeah! How have you been? Shownu said you guys hooked up last night,” he replied.

“Ew! He told you that? Why would he tell you such a thing?”

“Listen. I’m his best friend and his best man. He tells me everything… And I mean  _ everything _ ,” he smashed the cigarette in a pile of ashes in the cupholder, “He’s had a crush on you for a while so I’m not surprised.”

“Why not?”

“Because you two are so grossly in love every time I mentioned his name your cheeks would get so red. I’m just surprised it took so long.”

I decided to change the subject because my face felt hot. I didn’t want to be reminded of the events that transpired last night. “How have you been?”

Wonho shrugged, “Fine. Work has been hectic as always and life has been quite tame on the side.”

Wonho was always very vague about his life. I understand why he had to be. The work he was involved in was top secret and I knew the consequences if I got involved. Oh boy did I know the consequences. Plus he would possibly get in trouble if someone found out the business he was in. Of course everyone knows the business the mob is in so I knew there were a lot of dangers and activities involved. And the bag of weed that was sitting on the floor between my feet was telling me drugs were one of the businesses this gang got involved in. So I really didn’t have to nor did I want to know what went on at his job. 

“How have you been?” Wonho asked as he seemed to contemplate taking that bag of weed on the floor and rolling it in a joint.

“Uhh.. Fine for the most part. My friends are fighting and I really hope they don’t break up but I’m feeling a little hopeless,” I answered with a sad sigh.

Wonho shrugged, “Nothing you can do about it.”

“Yeah but they’re my friends.”

“If it’s one thing I learned in this business it’s that you gotta have boundaries. You can’t care too much about your friends because you don’t know what’s going to happen to them,” Wonho said, “Can you hand me that bag on the floor?”

I breathed as I picked up the bag and handed it to him, “But my life doesn’t revolve around danger Wonho. This is hard for me because I love them both.”

“I understand.” He rolled a joint.

“Can I have a hit?” Lord knows I needed it after today.

“Of course!”

My evening was spent getting a little high with Wonho. Because once we had finished the one joint, he decided to light another one. And then another one. We sat in silence while he turned on some of his favorite music to play softly over the radio. Sometimes we would laugh about something stupid. I found myself zoned out most of the time. I definitely enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness I was experiencing. It was nice to just ignore the world and spend it in a smoky haze with a friend. 

I didn’t even realize it had gone dark until Wonho pointed out the night sky to me. Time seemed to go by so slowly. I told him I needed to go even though I certainly didn’t want to. And I knew my eyes were probably as red as fire and I didn’t want my parents seeing it. But I figured I would just hide in my room until I fell asleep to prevent my parents from seeing my high state. Once we said our goodbyes I climbed out of the car. 

My body felt extremely heavy so I found myself dragging my limbs across the pavement. I had crossed the street and found Minhyuk walking in my direction. I knew this wouldn’t be good. 

“Cora can I stay here for a night… or two?” He asked as he got closer to me. 

“Uh yeah sure,” I spoke slowly, “Is everything okay?”

His eyes looked puffy and red shot from crying, unlike me who was red in the eyes from illegal substances. So I took that as an answer that nothing was okay. 

~~~

_ We got home from shopping and I went to make dinner. We were in our own little worlds and I was hoping that meant he had a chance to calm down. I certainly had calmed down and was ready to have a civil conversation. I made him a nice dinner and everything. Dumplings are his favorite and so I tried my best to make really good dumplings for him. I also made my own sauce (which was delicious if I do say so myself). I really wanted to make it up to him. _

_ We sat down for dinner and I tried to open up the conversation. Like I told him I wanted to understand. That I always accept him no matter what because it’s true! I love him always even when he upsets me. I just hoped he would see my point of view. _

_ But he blatantly ignored me. And it hurt. He told me to stop talking about it and move on. It felt like a punch in the gut having the person I love the most shutting me down. He never does that to me! I don’t know what changed all of the sudden. But I decided to let it go. It was minor in the grand scheme of everything we’ve been through. There was no use fighting it anymore because he wouldn’t listen.  _

_ I was cleaning the dishes. Something in me knew it was coming. So when I heard the words leave his mouth I wasn’t surprised. _

_ “I think we need to take a break.”  _

_ I had frozen. What do you even say to that? My heart was shattering into a million pieces and I felt like I had gotten shot in the stomach. I felt dizzy. I really thought I would collapse right there. All that was going through my mind was how all these years together were wasted on something so stupid. _

_ “I just think that I need to really discover who I am.”  _

_ It was like all my worst fears had become realized. I felt so hurt and betrayed. It felt like I was in a hole. I couldn’t even say anything to him. So I packed up some clothes and Boris, my favorite whale plushie, and I didn’t know where else to go. I don’t have anyone in town to contact so I came here. _

~~~

My heart broke for Minyuk. He was asleep now in my bed, his face all red and puffy from crying. Boris was in his arms. His hands were gripped tightly around him. My hand ran through his hair as I thought about how to help him. 

I couldn’t imagine a life in which those two weren’t together. Jooheon was perfect for Minhyuk and vice versa. They brought out the best in each other. Plus, I had never seen two people more in love. But clearly Jooheon made his choice and I had to help Minhyuk dig himself out of the hole he was in. 

I sighed as my phone lit up. A smile came across my face as I read the message from Shownu that was on my screen.

_ Goodnight Cora. Sleep well. I can’t wait to see you again. _

My heart raced as I thought about seeing Shownu again. I still had a hard time accepting how he affected me but I knew once I was in his presence again that would go away. Then I got an idea.

_ Goodnight Shownu. Can we talk tomorrow? _

There was no time spent before he replied:

_ Of course.  _

I smiled and put my phone on the nightstand and laid next to Minhyuk. I exhaled and relaxed. Digging people out of holes is hard but damn I certainly would try.


End file.
